


Tinder-match

by VenlaMatleena



Category: Pushing Daisies
Genre: Dating, Eventual Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-08-10 23:16:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7865338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenlaMatleena/pseuds/VenlaMatleena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You (the reader) are a single woman, a student who one day meets a cute guy through Tinder.</p>
<p>First chapter has been posted as an one-shot and now I am turning this into a real story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting Ned

It was a rainy afternoon when your phone notified you about a new match on Tinder. You tapped the screen and opened the app. You stared at the picture of a young man, about your age, with brown hobbit-like hair and adorable smile. The guys name was Ned and in his profile he said that he was a baker by profession.

You put down the phone and concentrated on the class again. These final hours of school before weekend could be menacing especially when the subject was taxation and accounting. You were studying marketing and international business and even though you liked the subject very much, the last classes in the Friday afternoon were the worst.  
You did not usually send messages on Tinder but this time there was something very enchanting about this Ned-dude and his adorably cute smile so you, after thinking long and hard, decided to send him a “hello”.

“Hi! I like your smile. Looking forward to the weekend?”

You signed the message with your name and tapped the “send” button. You kept staring at the chat box for 15 minutes, maybe even more, and then sighed disappointed. The break was over and you had to put your phone away. However you kept checking it as often as you possibly could. Every time you got slightly more frustrated when there were no new notifications of messages received.   
In the evening your phone finally beeped. You opened the chat box and saw a message from Ned.

“Hello! Thank you so much for that! Would you care to see this smile live? -Ned”

Your heart jumped. You waited for a moment, just so you would not seem too enthusiastic or like you had been stalking for his message by your phone whole evening. After 10 minutes you replied

“Sure, how about an ice cream tomorrow if you’re free?”

“Sounds great! I’ll see you at noon in front of that small café near the park, ok?”

You checked your calendar just to make sure that you had no plans for noon, just to be sure so you did not have to cancel. It had sometimes happened that you had made plans with someone, completely forgotten that you had something else planned and then been forced to apologize and reschedule which had been very inconsiderate and waste of the other persons time, in bad case at least.

“Okay” you answered. You stared at the screen but no new messages popped on it. You groaned and cursed yourself for such an idiotic answer “okay”. You sighed and typed

“So… it’s a date?”

“Looking forward to it.” Ned answered. 

You chatted with him for a moment and you felt that there was chemistry between you two. But then unfortunately it was time to go sleep since you had woken up quite early and the school had been tedious. It had indeed been a long day and you needed your beauty sleep to be at your prime tomorrow.

You were late. You hated to be late so much and you always made sure not to get late. However today from all the possible times when you could had been late, now… NOW… you missed the first bus which caused you to miss the second one. Finally you arrived to the spot where you had agreed to meet. 

\- I am so very sorry for being late! you apologized to a tall guy who was standing in front of the café. He was holding a bright yellow flower as he had said that he would. He smiled when he saw you.  
\- It is quite alright. he answered and gave the flower to you. Your face lighted up like a hundred suns and for a moment you were speechless for such kind gesture. He blushed and after standing outside for a moment he opened the door for you. You walked into the small, very cozy café that had been opened just recently. It specialized on different kind of ice creams which they prepared on the premises. The place was quiet since it was a rainy day of late autumn and people did not really eat ice cream that time, which was odd in your opinion since you could had eaten ice cream all the time.

Ned offered to pay for the ice creams but you told him “no”. You wanted to offer because you had been late. He reluctantly agreed after a brief debate about a subject and helped you to carry everything to the private corner table. He sat down after helping you with the chair. The atmosphere was somewhat stiff and awkward. You stumbled with your words and it seemed that there was no chemistry, mostly due to the state of nervousness that you both were in.  
You thanked Ned for a lovely date and left home after an hour of chatting. You put the flower into a bottle that you used as a vase and placed it onto a table next to a window. The flower shone like a sun against the gray view. You took out your phone, stared at his picture and cursed that he was exactly as cute live than in the picture. And he was polite, such a gentleman… And there had been no chemistry. Damn! Okay, yes, you had liked him, but clearly he had not liked you and the lack of messages after the date was enough to prove your point there; he just wasn’t interested.

A couple of weeks passed by. The weather had turned even gloomier than it had been previously. The streets were slippery in the mornings and it was always dark; dark when you went to the classes and dark when you got home after them. One Wednesday afternoon you were shopping for study books at a mall when suddenly there was a tap on your shoulder. You took off your headphones and turned.

\- Ned, uhm-hi! you exclaimed He smiled and greeted you. You asked him how he was doing and he asked you the same thing in return. After chatting for a while he looked a bit hesitant but then after clearing his throat he asked  
\- Mind if I ask, but why didn’t you like me?  
\- What do you mean?  
\- I do not go on dates often so… to avoid screwing up in the future, I was wondering if you could tell me what I did wrong… Ahem… Why did you not like me?  
\- I did like you. you answered and stared at him with confusion.  
\- You did? But you did not send me a message after…  
\- You did not either. Therefore I assumed that you did not like me.  
\- What? Quite opposite actually. 

You were speechless. You had read him completely wrong, maybe because of your own insecurities and all the past million first dates when the guy had liked you but you had not liked him or the other way around.  
\- Are you busy now? he asked with a shy smile on his face.  
\- No… you answered although it sounded more like a question.  
\- Great! I say that we’ll go to the market hall and buy some ingredients.  
\- For what? you asked. You were sincerely both surprised and cheerful about the turn of the events which meant that your plans for the evening had changed completely. You had planned to study for the exam that was taking place the next morning, but suddenly it felt unimportant.  
\- I will bake a pie for you. he said, took your hand and led you out from the bookshop and into the market hall that was filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. His hand held yours tightly and did not let go as you followed him through the crowds.


	2. The second chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Ned go and bake a pie together.

The abundance of different kind of fruits was really making your head spin. You had not visited the market before and therefore you were truly speechless and amazed. The air carried a strong scent of oriental spices which got mixed with the sweet scent of fruits and berries. Ned clearly knew his way at the market. He seemed to know all the sellers and was offered some samples of new ingredients that he could use in the bakery in the future.

\- So, what kind of pies do you like? he asked as he tried to make up his mind about the flavors.  
\- I-I don’t know… you answered and stared at the fruit that Ned was holding in his hand. You did not even know what it was because you usually used the ones that you knew to like, although you would never want to confess it to anyone. It was not something that you advertised or were proud of; the way you usually rather took the safe option than tried something new and exciting. Trying Tinder had been the most exciting thing you had done in ages and you were profoundly surprised that among all the weird guys and jerks there had been… Ned.

\- Sweet, sour? he asked as he tried to find out what kind of pie you would like.  
\- Would you hate me if I asked you to go with green sour apples, add some nuts and ginger? you blurted.  
\- No-  
\- And maybe some lemon? you added and pointed at the yellow lemons that had been just lifted on the table and were still in a cardboard box.  
\- Well… you made this easy for me. Ned answered and asked the salesperson to measure him one kilo of green apples, two lemons, about 200 grams of walnuts and one piece of fresh ginger root.   
\- Sorry. you mumbled and felt slightly embarrassed. You were not usually that bossy but you had just realized that you were on a surprise-date with an extremely cute guy and it made you slightly nervous. You tried to act as normal as you possibly could and be the charming self that you usually were but there was something about Ned’s smile that either made you giggle like a school girl or made you freeze and unable to for any sentences.

\- For what? Ned asked. He was just happy that he had bumped into you and managed to sort the situation up. He had been devastated when you had not sent him a message. He had done the exact same thing that you had; stared at his phone screen and wondered why on earth he had screwed it up and why you had not liked him.  
Ned paid for the groceries and then you walked slowly to his bakery with him. You had offered to pay since he was baking but he had insisted to pay this time since you paid the ice creams a couple of weeks ago. You had decided not to argue with him, just to be sure that you would not send wrong signals or make him think that you were a difficult person, because you were not. You were just slightly independent and modern in a way that you did not want the guy to pay everything. You were more than happy as well as capable of paying your own share and that way no one could say that you were trying to use them or that you owed them something.

After 30 minute walk you arrived to the bakery. Ned opened the door for you and followed you in. The atmosphere in the bakery was very relaxed and there were quite many customers. Your date greeted two women, Chuck and Olive, who were keeping the business rolling while Ned was visiting the market place. You followed Ned and stopped at the sales counter. Ned stopped immediately when he noticed that you were not following him.  
\- Come. he said and extended his hand to you. You looked hesitant but encouraged your mind to follow him.  
\- Can we… can I…  
\- I own the bakery. Ned answered. He had not told you that little detail that he in fact was the boss and the owner of the place so therefore you had just assumed that he was a baker and working for someone else, end of story. But you reasoned that there were many things that you did not know about Ned, you knew nothing about him actually because you had been talking about different foods and flavors at the market place and on your way to his bakery and on the first dates you had mostly discussed about the weather since you both had been so nervous.  
\- Oh… you commented. You started to think what you had accomplished during your life, Ned after all was about your age so the notion that he had his own successful business while you still tried to get a profession and a degree was just crushing really. You pushed those thoughts away and asked Ned how you could help. He suggested that you would cut four apples into slices as he started to prepare the dough. 

\- Thin or thick? you asked. You did not bake that often so you decided to ask the professional opinion before taking initiative and possibly screwing the whole thing up. You did not want to screw up because you liked Ned.  
\- Does not matter. he answered. The tone of his voice was soft and deep at the same time and he always talked politely or at least his tone was friendly at all times.  
\- Well… Thin ones take more time to cut and the thick ones more time to bake… you reasoned.  
\- Are you in a hurry? he asked with a tone that sounded a bit disappointed but mostly curious.  
\- No… Or actually I do have one exam tomorrow so I cannot stay late today but… you said and shifted your gaze from the apples to Ned, who seemed a bit… disappointed.

\- Actually screw the exam… I can always retake it. you continued. You did not really want to leave early if the mood and atmosphere remained as good as it had been so far. “So, no hurry” you mumbled and smiled.  
\- I would not want that. Ned said and tilted his head slightly as he shifted his attention from the dough to you.  
\- What is it that you are studying? he asked.  
\- Marketing mostly. you answered.  
\- Oh… that is interesting. Ned commented and smiled. He had been thinking about marketing for The Pie Hole and maybe he could ask you to help him. That way he could get to spend time with you… a good excuse if he managed to screw up the date.

\- Yeah, if I’ll manage to graduate at some point. you mumbled. The truth was that the studying had been quite hard lately and you had been quite stressed out.  
\- Is something wrong? Ned asked. He sounded sincerely concerned and although you did not feel comfortable of talking about your personal problems to strangers, there was something about Ned that made you confident that he was genuinely interested in hearing about it and therefore you answered  
\- Nah… I’ve just been lacking motivation lately. Nothing serious… But it’s like… I find myself questioning my own choices almost daily and I do not really know what the right direction for me is.  
\- Well… sometimes it is good to take some time to think and make sure that your life is heading towards something that you really want. Ned comforted and hoped that you knew that he would be more than happy to listen to worries in the future too. He would be the shoulder that you could always trust to be there. “Yes, a pie-scented shoulder. That is what I want to be” he thought. A silence followed.

\- I guess you’re right… but… thick or thin? you chuckled.  
\- You choose. Ned answered with an adorable smile on his face.  
You could not choose so you cut the apples into small cubes. That was your way to compromise; if you could not make up your mind, think outside the box, in this case, think “box”. Ned laughed when he saw the cubes. He was not done with the dough just yet so you asked for a frying pan, put some sugar, chili flakes and butter in it and when the butter had melted, you put the crushed nuts, apple cubes and ginger that had been cut into fine crumbs and fried them until the apples had taken some color as well as the nuts.

Ned was just about to set the dough into the pastry pan when he asked if you wanted to try. You were worried that you would make a mess but he promised that he would help you and stay close at all times. it was very unusual for Ned to be so bold and get so close and personal but he did not want to risk sending wrong kind of messages and make you think that he was not interested or that he was interested in you only in a friendly way.  
You took a deep breath and walked to Ned. The dough was in a bowl what was on a kitchen counter and after washing your hands you took ¾ of the dough as Ned instructed and put it in the middle of the baking pan. Ned came to stand behind you. Close, but only almost touching you. He told you to start to spread the dough with round movements to cover the pan and the sides as well. Your hands were shaking a little and then you felt Ned placing his hands over yours and teaching you the right technique. No one had ever guided you so gently and even though nothing was really happening, the moment was enough to take your breath away.

When the dough had been spread Ned put the pan into the preheated oven for a moment so when the filling was added as well as the remaining dough on the top as a seal, there was no danger that the bottom part would be raw when the top part was done. Ned was very enthusiastic to share his tips with you. Talking about things that he knew and loved, baking being one of his favorite topics, made him less nervous and he was able to forget the slightly confused self that stressed about many things. He wanted to appear confident like the other guys that you had surely dated but the fact was that he was not that confident. Therefore he did not return to stand close to you after he had put the pan into the oven.

When the bottom part of the dough was turning golden brown, Ned took the pan out and you put the filling on the dough and topped it all with the remaining dough and then pinched small holes into the crust with a fork. When you were done, Ned took the pan and put it back into the oven.  
The restaurant was getting quieter and after a moment of chatting, Ned told Chuck and Olive that they could go home because he would soon close anyway. The evening had turned rainy and there were no people walking outside so therefore chances of random customers just popping in were slim, besides, Ned was busy.  
Chuck, who was actually Ned’s ex, was trying to come up with excuses why she could not go home yet. She had been spying on Ned and you the entire time you had been baking, not out of jealousy but out of curiosity and now that it seemed that you two were getting along pretty well, she felt a little jealous. But mostly she wanted to stay around making sure that you did not hurt Ned. She knew that you most likely didn’t and Ned was a grown man anyway, but still she felt very protective over him.

Finally Ned managed to convince Chuck to go home and you were left alone into the restaurant that was entirely silent now, almost eerily so. You helped Ned to clean a bit and walked around the space. You wiped the tables and chuckled as you smelled the scent of pie coming out from the oven. It meant that soon it was dinner time, although it was rather uncommon to have sweet pie for dinner. You did not mind of course but it went against everything you had been taught as a child. Sweet things were a dessert and not the main course.

\- Are you sure we can be here? you asked when Ned locked the door so it was not even possible for the random people to pop out and disturb you two.  
\- Of course! I own the place. Ned answered, walked to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of candles which he kept for the moments when the powers went out, but actually he had more hoped that the candles would become handy in a moment like this; he with someone he liked, felt comfortable spending time with and was attracted to. He turned off the lights, lighted the candles and hoped that it was not too much. He however had decided that if you felt uncomfortable because of the candles, he would just say that it was only because he had to turn off the lights so the place would look closed. You however did not mind the dim candlelight at all. It was actually better that way so your handsome date was unable to see you blush.

Then finally the pie was ready and Ned the entire kitchen as well as the dining area, or the restaurant, filled with the delicious scent of pie. You cut a lemon in slices and helped Ned to set the table. He took some vanilla ice cream from the freezer and made very attractive looking portions which he then served to the table after he had asked you to sit down. Ned took off his apron and joined you. He was very eager to hear your opinion about the pie. You squeezed some lemon juice on the slice and cut a small piece with the spoon. The dough was cooked all the way through as well as the filling. The fresh lemon juice balanced the sweetness and you could even taste the ginger and chili that gave the pie an oriental kick. The nuts were crunchy and provided the pie some texture which was a perfect companion for the ice cream that melted since the pie was still hot.

\- How is it? he asked curiously.  
\- It’s… amazing. You are very talented. you said with a genuine smile on your face. Ned blushed slightly and stated that  
\- Well… you came up with the flavor combination so instead of congratulating me, you should congratulate yourself.  
You blushed a little and continued eating. You shared a lively conversation about life and it was very pleasant. At some point you noticed that you were not nervous anymore and you were just enjoying yourself and your life at the fullest. It felt different and strangely good. It was almost like your school and other stressful things in your life did not exist at all and this was where you were meant to be; eating pie with Ned in the soft candlelight.  
Ned felt the same way. He felt strangely calm and not-confused. He was laughing with you and sharing things with you that he did not want to usually share with anyone who did not know. He told you that his mother had died and his father had just abandoned him to a boarding school where he had actually started to bake because he missed home, his mom and… well… Chuck, who happened to be his childhood sweetheart, that part he left out because he felt that if he told you about Chuck… it would lead into a topic that he was not comfortable of speaking about… yet. Or, actually he was more afraid that you would freak out and run out from his life if he told you his secret now… so he left Chuck out.

It was getting so late that you really had to get going. You decided to walk home because the rain had finally stopped. Ned offered to drive you but you told him that even though you appreciated the thought and him offering, but you lived only a couple of kilometers away from downtown where the bakery was located.  
\- Well… thank you for a lovely evening. you said as you stood on the sidewalk, in front of the bakery. Ned seemed a little more nervous now compared to what he had been just a moment ago inside. His nervousness made you feel nervous and your words kept getting stuck in your throat although actually you were completely unable to even form your thoughts into reasonable and meaningful sentences.

\- May I… Ned said and put his hands into his pockets as he sometimes did. He was very tall and he sometimes tried to appear shorter by hunching over and burying his hands into his apron or pockets of his trousers. You left out a soft “yeah?” and waited him to continue his sentence.  
\- … have your number? he continued with a shy, adorable smile. You dropped your head as you tried to contain yourself and maintain some form of self dignity. You did not want Ned to know that you had developed a crush on him because you did not want to seem too pushy or anything, but the truth was that you had really enjoyed the evening and hoped that he would ask your number so you could remove the whole freaking Tinder-app off your phone. You were silent and Ned mistook your silence as hesitation. Therefore he continued  
\- It’s just that I would very much like to remove Tinder and-  
\- Of course. you answered and gave him your number. Then you wished him goodnight and started to walk home. You did not care about the exam that you were going to face tomorrow. No, you felt like floating and you were sincerely enthusiastic and excited about what the future might bring… in dating-wise at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 1 and 2 are dedicated to Vincey_Princey who requested continuation for the original one-shot. I hope you'll like this!
> 
> \- Venla :)


	3. The exam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to study but you're screwed.

You got home and started to read for the exam. Sure you had said that it did not matter, but the truth was that the exam was pretty important. However you refused to regret that you had spent the entire evening with Ned because you had really enjoyed his company. He was polite, a little shy, very cute and he seemed like that type of person who would never hurt you or play games with you. You were so done with those player-guys who were just looking for an easy fix and someone to hook up occasionally without anything more serious in mind.

It was almost 4 AM when you finally decided to put the study book away and some sleep, or try at least. Your mind was just playing the evening over and over again and you were getting more and more anxious about the exam because you knew that the subject was very complex one and there were plenty of details that you were supposed to know by heart, but you did not and that was a problem. You rolled in your bed and tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

Ned was also rolling in his bed. He was thinking about you and how much fun he had had spending time with you. He would have wanted to send you a message already but he did not want to seem too pushy. He had gotten an impression of you that you were very independent person who was kind of aware of your own territory and you appreciated when people did not just assume that they were welcomed to intrude according to their own personal agendas. No, you were a person that you treated with respect and with certain politeness or you were gone. Ned was actually quite the same. He was a private person who liked to have his own space and keep people within a suitable distance, close but not too close. Of course it was then different when he got to know the person and if he became friends with them… or romantically involved.

It was 7 AM when your alarm went off. It was impossible to say for sure if you had been actually sleeping or if you had just been somewhat awake at all times. You remembered having some dreams but you also knew for sure that you had been fully aware of your surroundings the entire time, therefore you reasoned that you had not actually slept, you had just been floating in somewhere in between and you knew that it was not a good thing.  
You got off the bed and it was actually physically painful to stand up as well as open your eyes. You walked like a zombie into the bathroom and after getting undressed, you took a shower, a cold one, hoping that it would wake you up and jumpstart your body. You turned off the water, wrapped yourself into the towel and sat down on your sofa again. You decided to go to the exam without make up because even a thought about stabbing your eye with mascara or liner made your stomach turn upside down.

You had forgotten to visit the shop and your fridge was empty. The only thing you had was a bottle of Pepsimax and you decided to pour one big glass of it and drink it entirely as one large gulp. Then you found a chocolate bar that you had forgotten already from the pocket of your bag and ate it as you sat on the sofa again and stared at the black tv-screen. You shook yourself out from that coma and then got dressed and left your home.  
When you got to the school, you found a note that was saying that the exam had been rescheduled to begin one hour late but at another faculty because apparently the place where it was supposed to take place, had a leaking roof. You sighed and checked the time. You had one hour and ten minutes time to get to the other side of the city. It was not a problem but in your current state of mind you would have just get on with the exam rather than taking extra measures to even get there.

You got to the right faculty and took the exam. It was a difficult one and you as you stared at the questions you felt your mind go completely blank and even the things that you had learned at school during the actual lectures just disappeared from your mind. You tried to write answers on the paper but you knew that you were screwed. When you had sat in the room for an hour you decided that you would just give up and leave. You would retake the test and that’s it. You felt bad for screwing the exam in any case because you knew that you were about to face a busy, exam-filled December anyway. You knew that if you had been a little bit wiser about this exam, you would have gotten this one done and would have had one less to deal with in the future.

The teacher stared at you disapprovingly when you returned the exam paper almost empty. You looked tired and fed up. Fortunately you did not have any classes that day and it was Friday so you were facing a weekend free, although you had plenty of assignments to do. You went home and sat on the sofa. You took your phone and opened Tinder. With a deep sigh you took one look at the picture of Ned and then removed the application from your phone entirely. It meant that he had to send you a message or else you had no means of contacting him again. Okay, you knew where to find him, but if he did not send you a message or call you, it meant that he was not interested after all and you did not have any good reason to visit his bakery either. Or well, the pie would be a good reason, but you did not want to seem like a stalker so it meant that if he did not contact you, you would not contact him either and you would have to avoid one certain bakery… for some time at least.

Ned opened Tinder. He went through his matches and saw that your profile had been removed. It meant that either you had removed the match or you had removed the entire app. He wished that it was the second one because he really wanted to see you again. He also wanted to call you but he did not want to seem too eager, just so he would not scare you away. He kept checking the time constantly because he knew that you had the exam but he did not know how early or late it was and if you had school after it.

When it was 5 PM Ned decided to call you. He reasoned that surely your school day was over already, it was Friday after all. He told Chuck that he would do some inventory in the pantry and asked her to take care of the restaurant in the meantime. Chuck laughed because she knew exactly why Ned wanted to take a moment for himself. Well, it was obvious because he had been checking his phone constantly and he had even seemed a bit more confused than the normal. He clearly had something going on and that something was something special. Chuck reasoned that according to yesterday that something special was you.

Ned calmed down his mind and breathed in and out a couple of times before searching your name from his contacts and tapping the green call –icon. He listened to the phone ringing and then suddenly he heard your voice as you answered to his call by saying your own name. You did not have his number so you did not know that it was Ned calling you. You sounded surprised when you heard Ned greeting you.

\- Ned, hi! you said with a surprised tone. You had expected him to send you a message because that was what everybody did. Ned however had wanted to hear your voice.  
\- Hi. How was your exam? he asked. He hoped that the exam had gone well because he knew that if it had not he would feel slightly guilty for it. Sure it had been your own choice to go with him and stay late, but still he did not want you to get yourself into trouble because of him. And therefore he knew that he would blame himself if your exam had been a disaster. That was just the way Ned was; a caring person who did not want to cause any trouble to anyone.  
\- Pretty bad. you answered. There was not point of denying it. You had screwed up big time. You just hoped now that Ned did not think that you blamed him. It after all had been entirely your own decision to stay so late and go on a date in the first place. It was classic-(Y/N) to push the tasks at hand to the last night and then deal with them in a slight panic… and it meant that if something came up or happened, you were totally screwed. You heard Ned sighing on the other end of the call and then say  
\- Oh… I hope it was not because of yesterd-  
\- No… I should have started to study earlier. It was entirely due to my own stupidity. you answered.  
\- You’re not stupid and you should not say like that. I think you’re very smart. Ned commented immediately. He thought that you were “a whole package”; smart, funny and beautiful and there was nothing that you could have said to make him think otherwise.

\- Well thank you. Although I am not smart enough to start studying for exams beforehand. you stated playfully and chuckled a little.  
\- It just means that you have better things to do and… other interests. I do not see anything wrong with that. Ned stated. He was having mixed feelings about it; on the other hand he felt a little guilty for taking your time yesterday so you failed the exam, or if not failed, you at least feared that you did, but on the other hand he was deeply flattered that you had made a conscious choice and decided to go on a date with him even though you had known that you were supposed to spend the evening studying.  
\- Ha-ha! Thanks. you laughed. Ned had a point. Maybe it was good that you had also other things in your life and not just studying, maybe it would actually help you to get your motivation back when you got some distraction and something else to think about and if Ned was one of those things, it would make you very happy.  
\- So… how are you? you asked. You were interested to know what was going in the head of your favorite pie maker.  
\- I am well. Removed Tinder. Ned answered. He sounded a little shy when he said that last part, almost as if he had been worried about your reaction. Was it too early to tell you that? Would it make you think that he was some sort of creep who threw himself into things very quickly? Ned sure hoped that you did not think any of those things and he also hoped that you had done the same thing.

\- Oh? Well… I actually removed it too. you answered. Ned was relieved. He had been worried that you had removed him from the Tinder –matches because your profile had suddenly disappeared from his matches. He thought that the evening with you had gone very well but sometimes he just did not understand women that well; they did not necessarily sat what they meant and acted interested just for the sake of politeness.  
\- Yeah? Any specific reason for that? he asked. He was hoping to hear that he had been the reason you had removed the app because it would then mean that he had some hope to start seeing you regularly and become a part of your life.  
\- You first. you asked because you did not want to admit that you had enjoyed the date so much that you had decided that it was enough of Tinder but if Ned admitted it first then you would be more than happy to admit it as well.  
\- Alright… Well… I met someone. Ned said. You could hear that he was smiling which made you blush a little because you could imagine that adorable, slightly shy smile that was now decorating Ned’s face.

\- You did? you asked and smiled widely as you tried to contain yourself and your own excitement. It would be awesome if Ned had removed Tinder because he had met you. You had always dreamt about meeting someone kind, considerate and handsome as Ned but you had partially given up of that dream already. There had been too many Tinder-jerks and you would have removed the app for those reasons soon anyway.  
\- Yes and I was kind of hoping that she would not be too busy tomorrow, because I would like to take her out… on a date. Ned spoke with a shy tone. it was not easy for Ned to take that step and ask anyone out. He was afraid of being rejected especially now that he had met someone that he was genuinely interested in.  
\- Oh… Well, I am sure if you’ll ask her nicely… you answered hoping that the person he was talking about was you and no one else.  
\- You think? he asked and sounded relieved somehow.  
\- I am pretty sure, yeah. you assured him.  
\- Okay… So… I was wondering if you were free tomorrow… and wanted to see me again. Ned said after a small pause. He sounded less shy now and a little bit more confident. Confidence suited Ned well. You however decided to tease him a little and exclaimed with a surprised tone  
\- Oh it was me!

\- Of course it was… you.! Who else? Ned asked and sounded confused again. You started to laugh.  
\- Gotcha! Sorry, I just had to… you said. Ned listened to you laughing and chuckled a little. He liked your laughter a lot and he was relieved that you were only playing him. It would have been awkward if it had been necessary to start explain himself more.  
\- Yeah… I would like to see you again. you answered immediately when you had stopped laughing. You felt your knees shake and your stomach was getting filled with butterflies. Ned was feeling the same way.  
\- Oh… Great… Yeah… Uhm… Tomorrow? he asked and waited anxiously for your response.  
\- Sure. Tomorrow is great. you confirmed. Then you both stayed quiet for a moment as you grinned at yourselves. Suddenly you heard someone calling Ned and he had to go. He told you that he would call you later and he was looking forward seeing you again. You wished him great evening and after saying “bye” like five time each, you finally ended the call. You put the phone away and smiled widely at the wall.


	4. Evening at the art gallery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently you had forgotten something and end up taking Ned to an event that you have to attend for your school assignment.

You were basically floating when you ended the call and decided to use that extra energy to visit the shop nearby. You had some of the pepsimax in your fridge but you knew that you could not really live with that for long. You bought bread and cheese, meat and vegetables and stopped at your neighboring Thai –restaurant. You bought takeaway red curry with chicken and rice and went home. After eating the curry you lay on your sofa and lifted your feet up for a moment. Your “moment” however grew into three and half hours because you fell asleep and woke up when your phone was ringing.

\- Yep?  
\- Hey, I’ve been trying to call you a couple of times. Is everything alright? it was a guy from school that was your partner in one assignment for marketing class.  
\- Oh… yeah… Who is this? you asked, since you were still half asleep.  
\- It’s Gabe! the guy exclaimed and laughed at you.  
\- Ah… Of course! Sorry, I think I fell asleep… What the time is it? you mumbled and sat up. You rubbed your forehead and yawned deeply.  
\- Ten-  
\- In the evening? you asked. You were completely messed up and then you realized that it was dark. “What a silly question” you thought because now that you paid even a little attention to your surroundings, it was clear that it was not morning.  
\- Yes. Gabe answered. He was amused because he always saw you at school and you usually were pretty sharp there and now you were not sharp at all.

\- Okay. What’s up? you asked.  
\- I cannot attend to the marketing event tomorrow. he answered. You were confused. You had no memory of making any plans for tomorrow evening, except the date with Ned.  
\- What was that? you asked.  
\- The art gallery event… where we were supposed to go because we need to make a presentation about the event for marketing class. Gabe said. Suddenly you remembered it and were fully awake.  
\- Shit! Was it tomorrow? you exclaimed.  
\- Yeah! Gabe answered.  
\- Oh fuck me. you mumbled because you hated when it happened; you had made plans and forgotten them and managed to double book yourself.  
\- What, did you have something else planned? Gabe asked. He was surprised that you had forgotten the marketing event. You never forgot anything and this was very unlike you.  
\- A date. you answered as you stood up. You walked to the window and closed the curtains. You hit a couple of furniture on your way because your apartment was dark since you had no lights turned on.  
\- Well… you take the date to the art gallery –event, problem solved. Gabe suggested.

\- Huh? you asked.  
\- It is perfect, isn’t it? Free snacks and drinks, classy surroundings… You know what, you’ll do this and I will write the report. Deal? he said. You thought about it for a moment. You really did not have a choice because someone had to go to the event and you did not want to cancel your date with Ned either.  
\- Sure. The report is the lamest part anyway. you mumbled.  
\- Yes, yes it is. Okay… so I will send you the tickets to your phone-  
\- Oh it was on invite only? you asked.  
\- Yes. Dress nicely and tell the date to dress nicely as well. Gabe replied.  
\- Sure. Hey Gabe. you said and waited him to say something.  
\- Yep? he asked.  
\- Why aren’t you coming? you asked.  
\- Well… I have a date. Bye! he answered and laughed as he ended the call.  
\- B-

You did not manage to say goodbye to him when he had already hung up. You checked out the phone when it beeped. Gabe was sending you the PDF-tickets and you noticed that Ned had tried to call you a couple of times during the evening. You decided to call Ned immediately so he would not make any reservations or big plans for the date since you had the date-plan covered. It was a good thing that Gabe had called because you had completely forgotten.

\- Good evening! Ned answered he had been just about to call you again although he had been slightly worried that you did not want to talk with him since you had not answered your phone during the entire evening although he had told you that he was going to call you later.  
\- Hi! you greeted him.  
\- Is everything alright? he asked. He had been somewhat worried when you had not answered your phone during the entire evening.  
\- Yeah-yeah… I just fell asleep. you answered and yawned.  
\- Aww, you still sound a bit sleepy, if you don’t mind me saying. Ned stated. You started to laugh a little and then answered  
\- Ha-ha! Yeah, well, I did not really sleep last night so…  
\- I see, well that explains it then. So… Do you have any requests for the date tomorrow? I could make reservations tomorrow morning, buy movie-tickets or something. Ned suggested.

\- Actually, I have this thing where I have to go-  
\- Oh? he asked and sounded a little bit disappointed because he assumed that you were about to cancel.  
\- Yeah… sorry. I had completely forgotten the whole thing. Gabe called me-  
\- Gabe who? Ned asked. He did not want to sound jealous but the truth was that he was a bit jealous especially if this “Gabe” had called you and therefore you were cancelling your dates with him, Ned, the Pie Maker.  
\- Ah, my friend from school. We have a pair-assignment which I had completely forgotten but he just called me that he cannot go tomorrow… So… you began. Your tone was casual but it was obvious that there was something that you needed to say. Ned was guessing that you had to cancel or reschedule. “Rescheduling would not be bad” he thought and then said  
\- If you need to reschedule-

\- No-no! The thing is that… I have two tickets to a marketing event for tomorrow evening and I would be absolutely delighted if you came with me. you answered. Your voice sounded a little shy but hopeful.  
\- Oh. What kind of event is it? Ned asked. He very rarely attended to any kind of art-events and he was a bit hesitant whether he would fit in or not.  
\- I am not sure but it is in an art gallery so… somewhat formal clothes required. you answered. Ned decided that he wanted to go because he did not want to postpone or make you go alone. Why knew if you met some intellectual art-guy and then Ned would lose his chances with you… or maybe there was some jerk that would grope you and you needed Ned to stand up to you and he got to be the hero. Ned liked the thought of him being the hero but he did not like the idea of you being ass-grabbed by anyone for him to be the hero.  
\- Oh, well I don’t mind. Is black suit with tie alright? he answered immediately.  
\- It should be perfect. you answered.

\- And at what time shall I pick you up? he asked after a short pause.  
\- Uhm, actually, the drinks are free so leave your car home. The gallery is located near your bakery actually, so I’ll just take a bus and meet you at the bakery around… five? you asked.  
\- Afternoon? Ned clarified and then groaned inside his head for asking such a stupid thing.  
\- Yes. you said and smiled.  
\- Alright. Ned replied.  
\- Sorry and thank you. you added. You were very thankful that Ned was willing to accompany you and you were also sorry for messing up the date-plan. You knew that some art-gallery event was not exactly what Ned had had in mind but you really wanted to go there with him.  
\- No-no… no need to be sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow at five. Ned said. He sounded happy and excited which made you feel better about the whole thing.  
\- Yes. Till tomorrow. Goodnight Ned. you said. Ned wished you goodnight and then you ended the call. 

You ate one sandwich, took a quick shower and went to bed. When you woke up in the morning you were greeted with sunshine and snowy view from the window. The weather had been getting colder every day but up to last night the water had fallen down in liquid form but now it had snowed. There was not a lot snow but even that little bit of it was so much better than the constant gray and gloomy that you had now gotten used to already.

You lay in your bed and then realized that you had not thought about what you were going to wear today in the event. You panicked a little as you went through your dresses and came to a realization that you had nothing fancy to wear. It meant that you had to go and buy something. You got dressed and took the bus to downtown. There fortunately were plenty of shops and it did not take too long to find a dress that you liked. You had actually seen the dress before but you had not bought it because you had not known where you would ever wear a dress like that.

The dress was deep blue, almost black and it was about knee-length although the last 10 centimeters of the hem was see-through lace. The sleeveless dress was very fitting and had a beautiful balconette-neckline and a tie-neck halter that was made of the same see-through lace and looked very sophisticated. The lace decorated the whole dress but the under fabric that was not see-through covered enough so the dress was not too flashy but still quite flattering and a little bit sexy even, but still very tasteful. The backside of the dress was very similar to the front and the hem was slightly bell-shaped so it was easy to walk with it.

You also bought new shoes and a large scarf and skin-colored tights because it was too cold to go without. All this you paid with your credit card because you could not afford to pay all at once. Perks of being a student but luckily you had gotten a credit card and that gave some flexibility to your economy. You however were very strict about using it only during the times of real need and you were very proud for keeping your promise and never getting late with the payments.

Then you went back home, got a shower and started to get ready for the date. You painted your nails deep red and brushed your hair on the other side although you left one strand of hair to frame your face. Then you put on some makeup, quite strong makeup today but not over the top. You used the colors that suited your skin tone and eyes and then painted your lips deep red so they matched your nails and your purse.

Ned was also getting ready for the evening. He had taken a shower, shaved and brushed his hair so it would not get all curled up like it sometimes did. He looked very cute when it did but now he wanted to look as classy as possible. He got dressed in his black suit, white collar shirt and narrow black tie that had a hint of deep blue when light reflected from it. He walked nervously in his apartment and a couple of times went to the bakery downstairs to ask Chuck if he looked alright.

Finally it was time for you to leave home. You took your phone and checked out the tickets once more as well as yourself in the mirror. You took the bus to the bakery and at five, somewhat sharp, you stepped into the bakery. Ned was there waiting for you already, sitting at the sales counter drinking some water because his throat felt terribly dry. it was just his nervousness but the feeling of cold water calmed him down a little. He was sitting, facing away from the entrance and then Chuck, who was on the other side of the counter saw you and said “hey” to Ned who then put the glass on the counter and turned to see what Chuck was pointing at.

\- Hi. you said and smiled. Ned blushed when he saw you because in his opinion you looked so beautiful. You were wearing a long winter coat so he could not see the dress but your hairdo and face were enough to make him stumble at his words.  
\- Uhm… hi! You… you-uhm… You look… wow! he stammered with an amazed tone.  
\- You look very good yourself. you answered and blushed for such compliment that Ned had just said to you, although you had hoped that your appearance would cause an affect that was exactly that. You did not dress up in fancy clothes that often so when you did, it was nice to know that it was not going unnoticed and it was being appreciated.  
\- I am glad to hear that. I do not usually attend classy events so… Ned said and smiled a little. He looked slightly shy and you could see that he was blushing.  
\- Don’t worry. It is not that fancy. you stated although you did not know if you were just speaking utter crap or the truth.  
\- Oh? What kind of event is it then? Ned asked. He sounded a little less shy and somewhat hopeful.  
\- I don’t actually know. I just know that the invitation said free snacks and drinks and dress code was formal. you answered. It was a little embarrassing to admit that you did not know and it was obvious that what you had just said about the event being “not that fancy”, you had no real idea about it.

\- Alright. Should we start going? Ned asked. He tried to hide his nervousness and thought that maybe getting there in time would be a perfect way to hide the fact that he was basically shaking in his shoes… or not really. He just felt a little bit like a fish on dry land, mostly because you looked so gorgeous and he was worried that he would embarrass you somehow among influential people.  
\- Yeah, but there is no hurry. you stated casually. You did not want to be the first one to arrive because then you might have to actually talk with people and the only person you really wanted to talk was Ned.  
\- Okay, well, would you like to have a glass of something? A slice of pie maybe? Ned asked.  
\- Sure. you answered.  
\- May I… take your coat? he asked.  
\- I’d better leave the coat on. I don’t want to risk getting the dress all messed up before the event. you replied. If you got your dress dirty before the actual party and even during it, it would drive you insane because you had spent quite a lot of money for the dress.  
\- I’ll get you an apron, if you like. Chuck said as she put a plate of warm, fresh pie in front of you.  
\- Nah, it’s okay, but thanks. you answered. You liked Chuck. She was very cheerful and seemed like an honest person. You kept wondering if Ned and Chuck had ever tried something else than friendship and you did not know how you would react if you heard that they had because they seemed still quite close. Would you feel threatened? Would you be able to trust Ned that there was nothing but friendship between them?

You and Ned ate slices of pie and then left the bakery. The art gallery located only 600 meters from the bakery but it took some time to get there because the streets were quite slippery and you were wearing high heels. Ned kept thinking whether he dared to offer his arm to you or not and finally he encouraged his mind and did so. You were deeply flattered about that kind of gentleman-like gesture and you were more than happy to take his arm.

The art gallery was filling up with people and there were bright lights and a band playing. You showed the tickets to the person who was greeting people at the door and you went in, left your coats to the cloakroom and for your surprise the walls of the gallery were half empty. Ned could not help but stare when he saw you without the long coat. You were talking to him but he could not hear a word you said because he was so mesmerized about your beauty.

\- Ned, hey? you said and then Ned recoiled from his amazement.  
\- Do you agree with me? you asked although you knew that he had not heard a word you had said, which actually made you feel pretty flattered.  
\- Sorry, what was the question? he asked when he recoiled from his thoughts.  
\- Yeah… I was just pointing out that the walls are half empty. you repeated what you had been wondering a moment ago.  
\- Yes… true, they are. Ned answered after he had looked around a bit.  
\- Isn’t it strange? you asked.  
\- Yes. Should I make notes? Ned asked suddenly.  
\- Notes? you asked with a confused tone.  
\- For your school assignment. he specified.  
\- Oh… I will just take a couple of pictures and we’ll see. Fortunately Gabe is the one who will make the report or it is none of my problem. you answered.  
\- But how is he going to make it if he has no notes? Ned asked. He sounded more concerned about your school project than you did and it amused you. You chuckled a little and said  
\- Good point.  
\- I can make notes, I make good notes. Making notes is kind of my thing. Ned said and you could hear that he was a little bit nervous. You took a couple of pictures and wrote a couple of key words. Then there were speeches and toasts. You and Ned talked about many subjects and it felt very natural to spend time with him although the setting was somewhat normal. You both laughed at some paintings that neither of you understood, especially when the sparkling wine started to get into your heads a little.

Then the gallery owner asked for everyone’s attention and told that this evening there was a unique chance to get your own piece of art on the wall. The volunteering couples would be provided with a blank canvas and colors and then they would have two hours time to create something for the gallery. The woman who was hosting the event asked the volunteers to raise their hands but no one was eager to volunteer. You whispered to Ned “we should totally go for it” and then raised your hand before Ned even realized what was going on. You put your hand down and grabbed Ned’s hand and then lifted them both. “Oh we have brave volunteers!” the host said and then a couple of other couples raised their hands as well. In the end there were 11 groups that participated. The host brought you and Ned the canvas which was 50cm wide and long and then colors to paint with. You were also provided with white aprons so you would not mess up your clothes.

\- What shall we paint? Ned asked.  
\- Anything!  
\- Nooo! You cannot say “anything” because then all I get is nothing. My hands get sweaty and my mind goes blank and it is even worse when you look so beautiful and all I want to do is to not embarrass you with my poor painting skills… because I am very bad at painting. I am good at painting pies. No, baking them, not painting them obviously and I do not want to embarrass you in front of all these people-

You smiled and took a paintbrush and dipped it in blue paint. You smiled widely and splashed the paint on the canvas. Ned stopped talking immediately and smiled shyly. You gave him a brush and challenged him to paint you. He painted a few lines with bright colors and then splashed some red over it. You painted Ned and you used kind of earthy color combinations for it because you thought that Ned was a very down to earth –person and he was not the most lighthearted person. Of course he was warm and friendly, very charming in a boyish, slightly confused and shy way but you could sense that his mind was constantly occupied with thoughts and behind all that was a secret that made him feel different from everybody else.

You both kept laughing and adding colors, mixing them up until two hours had gone and you were supposed to take the painting and hang it onto the wall. When you did you nodded to Ned and you both pressed your hands to the canvas and made your handprints to the middle of the canvas that had been left slightly empty. It was the most clichéd modern-art painting and when you were asked what the idea behind it was, you both started to laugh and just smiled at each other.

\- Us. That is us. Ned answered and smiled at you. “Yeah” you commented and blushed a little. Then you both went to wash your hands and gave the aprons away.  
\- It was fun. Ned said. He had not assumed it to be so much fun because he had been worried about his abilities to paint and not understanding that it was not the point. The point was to get close to the art and express ones thoughts and feelings with it. No matter how crazy or unprofessional it was.  
\- Yeah. Thank you for using so bright, beautiful colors to describe me. you said to Ned when you were left alone again.  
\- Well, that is how I see you, so no need to thank me. May I ask you something? he asked you.  
\- Sure. you answered and sipped some sparkling wine.  
\- Why did you use somewhat dark colors to describe me? he asked. He sounded curious but also slightly worried and he stared at you with wide, confused eyes.  
\- I did not… there was plenty of green and blue… brown, some orange I think… you answered. You had not paid any attention to the colors you had used but now that he pointed it out, you knew that he was right.

\- Yeah, but why? he asked.  
\- I think it represents the way you think quite a lot. I get a feeling that you take life seriously. You have responsibilities and you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders sometimes.  
Ned chuckled. You were quite right and he was surprised that you had seen that side of him although he had not been actively pointing it out.  
\- And I think you have a secret. you added. Ned went slightly pale. It was true. He had a secret and it was a that kind of secret that made him very different from everyone else. The truth was that Ned was able to bring the dead back to life. There were some certain rules of how the entire thing worked but the bottom line was that he could bring back the dead and if he was not very careful with the gift of his, he could accidentally cause harm with it.  
\- Everybody have secrets. I am not the only one who has them. I am sure you have secrets too and I don’t think that mine are any worse than yours. he snapped and then regretted immediately snapping at you like that. The smile left your face and you did not know what to say. You had been thinking whether you should or should not add that “secret” –part and it had then kind of slipped out.  
\- I’m sorry. you said. It was clearly a topic that he was not ready to talk about and you were sad that you had ruined the mood because Ned did not seem so comfortable with you anymore.

It was getting late and people were leaving. You had been taking notes and pictures especially after that “I think you have a secret” –thing because after that Ned had gone very silent. You got your coats and walked to the bakery. Ned lived in the upstairs and you had a direct bus connection from the stop that located almost in front of the building. You both stood on the sidewalk silently and neither of you knew what to say. Ned was feeling somewhat stupid for ruining the perfectly delightful evening by snapping at you like he had and you were feeling apologetic for making that notion. You saw your bus arriving and left the moment without saying anything but “goodnight”.

Ned stood there and watched you walking to the bus. He cursed himself for being so awkward and letting you leave like that. It was obvious that you had not meant anything bad with it and you had apologized to him afterwards and he was the one who was acting like a child, besides you had been right. Ned had a secret and he decided that he would share it with you as soon as possible. That was if you still wanted to see him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter dedicated to Pilvi! I hope this date matched your request and that you liked it :)


	5. Misunderstanding leads to...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the date went well but then there was that one moment that had ruined the mood. The moment of your pointing out that Ned had a secret and then him snapping at you that his secret was no worse than any others and everybody had secrets, not just him.
> 
> This left you feeling bad for stating something like that so aggressively (in your point of view) and Ned feeling bad for snapping at you in return.

You felt bad for what had happened and at this point you were completely unsure whether Ned wanted to see you again or not. You cursed that feature of your personality that sometimes could not help blurting out things like that, just like you had no filter. You were an honest person who spoke her mind and meant what she said, although you of course knew when to shut up as well, but sometimes your ability to see behind the surface bit you in the ass. That was exactly what had happened now; you had sensed that Ned had a secret and then, without thinking about it further, stated it against his face and made him feel uncomfortable. You knew that it was not your business if Ned had secrets, hell, you had secrets as well and he was a guy with whom you had gone out just few times so you could not even expect him to be completely honest with you about the personal details of his life.

You however hoped that you had not screwed things up because the fact was that you liked Ned. He was somewhat a person that you had hoped to meet; kind and considerate, tall and handsome, cute even. But the end of the date had been awkward since neither you had really said anything and the mood had clearly changed after you had slipped out that Ned had a secret. You kept checking out your phone hoping that Ned would send you a message or call but no, your phone did not beep or ring.

Ned was worried. He was hoping that he had not screwed things up by snapping at you like that. He really wanted to be honest with you but since you did not know him that much, he did not know whether you would freak out about his waking-up-the-dead -gift... "more like a curse" Ned thought silently when he stared at the phone screen anxiously. However despite the fact that he knew you only a tiny bit, he decided to tell you everything even though it might make him look like a freak in your eyes. “It needs to be done, I have to fix this” he thought as he washed his teeth.

Ned took his phone and typed a long message where he explained everything and apologized for the tone of his voice and basically ruining the evening. When he was about to send it, he suddenly realized that it was pretty late already. Therefore he decided not to send you a message, just in case you were already sleeping and then he would wake you up and he did not want to wake you up. Ned imagined that you looked serene and beautiful in your own bed but his image of you was all the time interrupted by his memory of your final glance that had been sad, in a hidden way.

The next morning your phone rang and woke you up. You mumbled a lazy "hello" as you answered the call. It was Gabe.  
\- Hey! So, how was it? he asked. His voice sounded hoarse and it was clear that he had been partying.  
\- Morning. you yawned before continuing  
\- Yeah, it was great. I have the notes and pictures for you so you can make the presentation-  
\- Uhm, about that, I think that it would make more sense if you made the presentation as well-  
\- What?! you exclaimed. You had been somewhat afraid that this would happen but then again you had reassured yourself that surely not, Gabe after all was your friend and would never screw you like that.  
\- I was not there and you were... there-  
\- You got to be kidding me! you stated. You really could not believe your ears.  
\- Hey come on, it is no big deal! Just 15-20 slides on PowerPoint. Gabe mumbled and tried to make it sound like it indeed was no big deal although the reality was everything but.  
\- No big deal? On what plane of existence are you living on? you scoffed and after listening to silence for a moment and taking a deep breath, you continued by reasoning  
\- Gabe, we have an agreement-  
\- I have a terrible hangover! he answered with an annoyed tone.  
\- I don’t care! you stated with a firm tone. No, you were not going to let him screw you like that.  
\- Gosh, (Y/N)! You're being a bitch! Gabe snapped. At that point you hung up the call. 

There was no point to listen to the insults. You had made a deal with him and you were going to honor that deal no matter what. Therefore you sent him the pictures as well as the notes and then refused to answer any calls or chat-messages that he sent. You buried your face back into the pillow and groaned. It was frustrating when you agreed to do something and then the other person did not honor the deal. You hated it and when it was your friend who behaved like that, it really made you angry.

You kept checking out your phone, wondering what was going with Ned. You had met Ned only a couple of times but there was something about him that made you almost completely sure that he was the man you had waited for to meet… or so you had thought, now you were not that sure anymore. You had felt the spark, the beautiful chemistry and now it was brutal not to know what the situation was right now. You were worried that you had offended New because it was clear that you had hit a nerve and therefore you decided that you would not contact him unless of course he contacted you first, “and if he contacts me, I will not ask about the secret” you stated aloud.

Ned woke up. He turned on his back and stared at the ceiling. He knew that he had decided to explain everything to you but now he was not so sure. His “gift” would most likely freak you out. He took his phone and opened the message, read it through and then deleted it. “No, it is way too early” he thought and got up from his bed. He decided to wait for you to contact him, got dressed and headed down to the bakery to open for Sunday brunch.  
However working was impossible and the time felt like it was just staying still so after a couple of hours he decided to send you a simple

“Hi”

You had left your apartment to catch some air. It was surprisingly sunny day but it did not cheer up your mood. You had stayed in bed for another hour and then forced yourself up, gotten dressed up and left out without breakfast. You had not felt like eating anything but now that you were outside walking, you started to feel hungry and it made you hope that you could just go and visit the bakery for a nice slice of pie but… yeah, there was the infamous “but”. As long as you did not know what was going on with Ned, you did not dare to seek him out and basically force him to face you.

Suddenly your phone beeped. You took it from your pocket and stared at the notification; one new message. You had gotten plenty of messages from Gabe and you had ignored them all but now you decided that you had to check out the message. It was possible that Gabe was going to continue being an ass and not make the presentation which meant that you were screwed big time when you went to school. Sure you had had an agreement but the teacher did not know it, neither did he care.

“Hi” from Ned. You stared at the word completely unable to wrap your head around what the message meant. You had a bad habit of over-analyzing everything and this message, one simple “hi” was no different. Was that an ice breaker? Was he waiting for you to apologize to him again? Was the “hi” only a “hi” or was there a secret meaning to it? These questions were driving you insane as you stared at the one-word-message. You decided to call him, because whatever there was hiding behind that “hi”, you would find out by calling and hearing the tone of his voice. Besides you might be asked for a Sunday brunch although it was more like lunch-time already.

Ned waited nervously for your response. It was not that busy day which was a bad thing because he had been stress-baking for the past few hours. His phone rang and he sighed relieved when he saw that the person calling was you. Then his relief was replaced by nervousness because he did not know if you were angry at him or not. In his point of view you had the right to be upset with him. You had not deserved that tone. No, not at all.

\- Morning! Ned answered and then immediately cursed for it since it was afternoon already.  
\- Hi Ned. you greeted him not quite sure what you were supposed say now. You had had it all planned in your mind and you had known exactly what you had wanted to say to him but now that it was the time to say those things, you felt your courage slipping away like water through the sand. Ned had pretty much the same situation in his hands and therefore you both ended up being silent for some time.  
\- Look… I want to apologize… you begun, waiting anxiously for Ned to say something, anything. Ned however was surprised and confused. Why were you asking for his forgiveness when he had been the one who had snapped?  
\- No, don’t! Please. he said as soon as he was able to form sentences that made any sense.  
\- Why? What do you mean-  
\- I am the one who should be apologizing. Ned answered. His tone was a mixture of embarrassment and being apologetic. It made you speechless and for a moment you kept just staring at the pavement with a confused look on your face.  
\- I ruined the evening. he continued. His tone sounded sorrowful and embarrassed and made your heart ache. Thinking about cute, adorable Ned in that state was just too much and you did not even care anymore whose fault it had been and therefore you were more than happy to accept all the blame, so you said  
\- No-no… It was me. Anyway-

\- Are you hungry? Ned asked suddenly, completely cutting you off. He did not want you to take the blame and he figured that maybe a fresh pie would be a nice peace offering.  
\- Actually… you answered with a slight smile on your face. Ned continued  
\- Hungry for a slice of pie? I have been stress-baking the entire morning and noon-  
\- Stress-baking? you chuckled as you imagined Ned baking and groaning out of stress at the same time.  
\- …so I have the kitchen literally getting filled up with fresh pies and there are no customers to eat them all. Ned added with a hopeful tone.  
\- Well… you began a little bit hesitantly, the last thing you wanted to do was to scare him away by being too pushy.  
\- I am in deep trouble if you’ll refuse my offer. Ned reasoned and he really wanted to see you. You were silent for a moment and then answered “sure, I’ll be there in 30 minutes”. 

After the call ended you found the nearest bus stop and took the first bus to the bakery. You got off the bus and walked to the bakery but the nearer you got to the entrance, the quicker your self-confidence seemed to slip away. There however was no turning back now besides you really wanted to make things right, even if it meant ignoring the secret for now. Yes, you were more than curious to find out what that secret was but you had to keep your nosy, overly curious side in check if you wanted to keep getting to know Ned more… not his secrets but him.

\- Oh (Y/N)! Ned exclaimed when he saw you entering the bakery. He wiped his hands to his apron and ran to welcome you.  
\- Hey. you answered and smiled a little.  
\- How about that pie. Ned said, escorted you into the kitchen, got you a chair and asked you to sit down. He had still many pies in the oven and therefore he was unable to leave the kitchen himself. It made socializing easier if you were right there and he did not have to shout. You complimented Ned on the pie and you ended up eating many slices of different flavors. The atmosphere was a little awkward at first but then soon you both relaxed and it was like nothing had ever happened. Yeah, you both chose to ignore the topic and neither of you even hinted at that direction.

You kept seeing each other a couple of times a week and it was great. There was chemistry and Ned kept behaving in a true-gentleman-way. You had agreed to take things slowly and therefore even after 4 weeks of seeing each other you had not even kissed yet, partially because Ned was shy and every time when a moment presented itself, he started to stammer or otherwise talk nervously about unnecessary things. Then another 5 weeks passed by and nothing happened so you had started to assume that maybe you had understood his intentions wrong and maybe he was just looking for friends and you had stopped trying to get your relationship with him any further.

The thing with Ned was that he really much wanted to kiss you and he was very attracted to you. He did not want to be your friend, no, he wanted to be something much more but as long as he had the secret, which he had not been able to share with you yet, he was unable to take things any further. He knew that if he kissed you, he would fall for you completely and then it would break his heart if you left him after finding out about his “bringing back the dead” –gift. He had noticed that at some point during these 9 weeks of regularly hanging out your attitude towards him had changed and he had even heard the Tinder –notification a couple of times because you had apparently reinstalled the app. It meant that you were not thinking about him in a romantic way and he could not really blame you.

Yes, you had installed the app again a week ago. You liked Ned very much and hoped that he liked you too but since he clearly was not interested in anything else but being your friend it was time for you to move on. You knew that Tinder was the stupidest place to try to find someone special but then again, you had found Ned… it meant that not all Tinder-guys were jerks. So you had figured that it did not hurt to try, “who knows” you had thought. You had not seen any other guy the entire time and even chatting with someone else than Ned felt wrong but then again, you could not abandon your dreams of finding that one special person for Ned.

Then Ned had asked you about Tinder and if you had been going on dates with other guys and he had sounded somewhat disappointed, which then had caused you to snap at him. “Going on dates with other guys?” you had scoffed because Ned’s voice had almost like hinted that you were basically cheating on him and the past 10 weeks hanging out had actually meant something more… well the first 4 weeks, sure but then you had come to a conclusion that Ned was only interested in your friendship and nothing more.

The truth was that Ned had very conflicted thoughts about the entire thing; he understood you partially but then on the other hand he had assumed that he meant something more to you and the direction to which you had been heading had been clear to both of you, but then again… he had not even kissed you and every time you had tried to kiss him, he had basically turned away, for which he had his reasons. Then you had snapped at him and told him that it was none of his business who you dated since apparently he wanted nothing but friendship himself.

You had then stormed out from his apartment, slammed the door behind you and left Ned alone to stand in the middle of his living room. It had happened a couple of days ago and neither of you had not contacted the other since and you had been in touch somewhat daily… until now. The situation made you sad and angry at the same time. You tried to concentrate to the home assignment that was due to the day after tomorrow but there was no way to focus your thoughts into the task at hand. You were deeply bothered because there had never been a silence like this. You had to see Ned and therefore you turned off your computer, left the apartment and headed to the bakery to see Ned. 

“Maybe there was a reason why he sounded so upset and jealous” you thought and for the first time in 6 weeks you felt hopeful about the potential possibilities with him.  
The reason why Ned had not kept in touch with you for a few days had been that he had not dared to pick up the phone and make the first move and on top of that he had been busy investigating a murder, which was the source of extra income for him; he sometimes helped his friend to solve murders by touching the dead and asking who killed them and then he shared the reward with his friend. Now this particular case had been somewhat peculiar and very tricky and it had swallowed all of his time as well as energy. He had left the town for a day so when he reached the bakery and asked for him, he was nowhere to be found.

You sat down and decided to at least eat a slice of pie because you were already there, so why the hell not. Then suddenly Ned stormed in and exclaimed loudly to his friend Chuck  
\- We have dislocated the body!  
Chuck tried to signal Ned to shut up because she knew that he had not told you about his gift yet. Ned however was too anxious, nervous and confused to understand her gesture and therefore he continued  
\- I touched the body, it came back to life, like they always do, but it escaped and now we cannot find it!  
You had heard Ned’s voice when he had stormed into the bakery and therefore you had gotten up from the corner table and walked closer to the main entrance. You had heard everything what he had said but it made no sense to you. You kept staring at Ned who was explaining the specifics of the murder case to his friend and then finally when he stopped talking to catch his breath, you greeted him by saying  
\- Hi Ned.


	6. Ned's secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking such a long time with this!
> 
> So... you heard him talking about the murder and stuff :P great!

Ned turned his head and stared at you for a moment that seemed to last for a lifetime. He swallowed once nervously and cursed which was very uncharacteristic of him. He went through in his head everything he had said and he had said a lot. He explained the details of the murder case and also mentioned that when the body of the victim had escaped, someone else had died instead. The person who had died had been the killer which obviously made Ned feel less guilty about the whole thing, because a generally bad guy had died but none of it sounded too good in your ears.

You however did not really even understand what he was saying. All this “waking up the dead” –business did not make any sense to you and the more you had listened to him talking, before noticing you, you started to suspect that Ned had serious mental issues and if he had a proper medication for his hallucinations, he had not been taking it for a while. At first you thought that it was just an inside joke which you did not understand, well of course, that was the very nature of the inside jokes, but as Ned kept on talking with a such a serious tone that eventually it started to be more than obvious that Ned was serious. It meant only one thing; Ned was delusional!

\- Hi Ned. you said and Ned finally noticed you. You could see that Ned looked shocked to see you there and even more when he realized that you had heard what he had said.  
\- What are you doing here? he asked with a confused tone. The words seemed to get stuck into Ned’s throat as he tried to come up with something to fix the situation but his brain was not cooperating with him as well as he would have wanted to.  
\- I came to see you… you began and then paused. Ned took a step at your direction but he stopped immediately when he saw you stepping back as a reaction.  
\- But I think it was a bad idea. you continued. The look on Ned’s face changed from shocked to disappointed. He had not wanted you to hear about his freaky secret like this and now he did not know what you were thinking about it.  
\- Look, I did not want you to hear about this… like this. he said with an apologetic tone. You took your purse, put on your coat and stayed completely silent as you tried to figure out what to say next. Was Ned referring to his mental illness with “this” or what was he trying to say?  
\- It is okay. you said and decided to leave. Ned however blocked the way to the door and you stopped right in front of him. He was a lot taller than you were which made the situation a little bit intimidating, which was not at all what Ned had wanted to. He was just a nice guy with a little bit less ordinary ability that sometimes screwed up his life a little.

\- Ned, it is none of my business. Please, let me leave. you said with a firm tone.  
\- No. You will stay and I will explain everything. Ned said and stood there, blocking your exit even more firmly. He was not going to move and it scared you a little. It scared you because in your opinion he was delusional and in his own words he had killed someone, well not killed but accidentally caused someone’s death. It was a serious deal or he had some serious hallucinations and you did not know which one was better.  
\- I do not want to know. you stated and after gathering all of the bits and pieces of your courage, you physically moved him and basically ran to the main entrance. Ned stepped away and turned to look at you.  
\- I did not intentionally kill him, it was the close proximity! It was not my faul-  
Ned shouted but he stopped when the front door of his bakery got slammed shut after you had left the building. You kept running until you reached the bus stop which was located very close to Ned’s restaurant. You were lucky because there was a bus arriving to the stop at the same time with you, therefore you did not have to wait and risk being forced to deal with Ned right now. No, you did not want to deal with the crazy person! You hopped in the bus and it drove away immediately, taking you away from the entire mess. 

Ned tried to call you many times after you had left but you did not answer. You put your phone on mute and ignored it completely. Ned felt unimaginably bad about what had happened and he knew that what he had said must have sounded very bad in the ears of a person who did not know about his secret. He was worried that he had now screwed everything up and even if you had wanted to be his friend only, he was sad for losing a friend. You after all were a very smart and funny, a wonderful person with a kind, warm heart. Ned did not want to give up so he sent you a text message.

"Can you please answer my calls? I really need to explain."

You however did not answer anything although you read the message. But then you put the phone away, got out from the bus and then went home. You had very mixed feelings about the entire thing; on the other hand you were relieved that you had learned the truth now and not later but then again, Ned… was Ned. He had seemed like a person who would not be capable of hurting a fly, which scared you because it just emphasized the fact of how massively you had misjudged his character before. Yes, it was better that you found out now and not later. It however it did not change the fact that you spent the evening crying and continued crying the following night without being able to fall asleep. 

Then the morning came. Your alarm went off and it was time to get off the bed and get ready for school, you had an early class and you had not been sleeping at all. Therefore you were quite certain that there was no way for you to feel even more crappy, physically at least. You took a long look in the mirror and two red eyes stared back at you. Even washing your face with cold water did not change that. You checked out your phone and there were four missed calls more from Ned and a couple of text messages. 

You left for school. It was a crappy day; lots of homework and a couple of scheduled exams to which you had forgotten to read. You had been so upset about the fight that you had had with Ned earlier that you had not been able to concentrate on anything but going over and over your friendship with the handsome baker, who had then turned out to be a madman. You were tired and going through all this made you over emotional and therefore you felt like you could have broken down and cry anytime.

It was lunch time when Chuck suddenly appeared to the library where you were panic-reading for the next exam. She had taken a slice of pie with her as a token of truce or maybe it was a bribe to make you listen to her, for a moment at least. It was not the first time that Chuck found you in the library. Once she had come to talk to you about Ned because she had felt that she had to explain her and Ned’s background. That time however you had been already late from class so you had promised her to meet her at the Pie Hole before meeting Ned. 

Then in the evening you had gone to the bakery before you had agreed with Ned, just so Chuck could say what she had wanted to say to you earlier. You had sat down in the corner table and you had decided to eat a slice of pie while waiting. Chuck had reasoned that you had noticed that there was something between two of them and therefore she had wanted to clear the air before any misunderstandings occurred, because at the time you had been still assuming that you and Ned were going out in the romantic-sense of going out, although he had never made a move on you. The conversation had gone like this;

\- Do you mind if I'll join you? she had asked when you had been waiting for Ned to close the bakery and join you for an evening walk and a late movie in the cinema.  
\- No... not at all. you had said and gestured her to sit down, opposite from you. You had been dissecting a remaining tiny piece of a pie slice for the previous ten minutes and it had gotten cold, as well as turned into a mush on your plate. You had been very nervous and your stomach had been filled with butterflies.  
\- So... what do you think about Ned? Chuck had asked curiously and chuckled a little bit when she had noticed the mush on your plate.  
\- He... uhm... you had said and smiled widely instead of being able to form any sentences.  
\- Yes, he is. Chuck had answered with a smile on her face.  
\- He told me that you two dated. you had mentioned. Yes, Ned had told you once that Chuck was his first love but he had never told you anything more about it.  
\- Yep, we did, but it did not work out. Chuck had commented and looked at you intensely as she had tried to figure out what your thoughts about it were.  
\- He talks very sweetly of you. you had mentioned casually as you had tried to hide the small undertone of jealousy that you were experiencing. Yes, you had been very attracted to Ned in the beginning and hearing that he was hanging out with his ex all day long every day, had not been easy.  
\- Yes, we are good friends still. Chuck had replied.  
\- That's nice. you had commented and put the spoon away because you did not want to seem too nervous and playing with food did not help with that mission.

\- Do you mind me asking... why did it end? you had asked suddenly. Chuck had looked surprised and therefore you had continued by adding  
\- I mean because you seem like an awesome person plus you're beautiful... and Ned seems like a person who... well...   
You had said and paused. It was not easy to talk about it especially when the ex was still strongly in the picture and she was a great person. You had not wanted to step on anyone’s toes but you had to know why the relationship between Ned and Chuck had ended. You knew that it was none of your business and sometimes the reason for one’s breakup was just that things were not working out, this you understood from personal experience all too well, but nevertheless, you had to know. Chuck did not comment.  
\- He is not one of those guys who avoid dating because they can't settle down in with someone. you had explained and hoped that Chuck wouldn’t get offended because of your question, which was somewhat personal, especially considering that you had not known Ned for long, only a week or two, and you had known Chuck even for a shorter time. This had been the first private conversation that you had been having with her.  
\- No. He is not that kind of person at all. Ned is the best. The sweetest, kindest, gentlest man you could ever find. Chuck had answered with a sincere tone.  
\- So why? you has asked with a confused tone.  
\- It was the waking up the dead -thing... Chuck had answered casually.  
\- Excuse me? you had asked and this time there had been a totally confused tone in your voice and it had matched your facial expression perfectly.  
\- Yeah he woke me up from the death and he can't touch me or I go back being dead... she had answered and then realized immediately that she had now revealed Ned’s biggest secret.

\- Ahem... I see... and being dead is a metaphor for...? you had asked and smiled nervously.  
\- No metaphor... Chuck had replied and put her hands on her mouth. Her expression had been a mixture of regret and “oh shit, what did I do” which had confused you even more.  
\- Uhuh... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have asked. you had commented and an awkward silence had followed.  
\- It's ok... I'm sure he will tell you himself when the time is right. Chuck had said before leaving your table.   
\- Yeah... sorry I asked. you had commented and soon after that Ned had come to get you from the table because he had finally managed to clean the kitchen and he had been ready for that walk. You had then forgotten eventually the entire conversation but now it had returned to your mind, now that you had heard Ned talking about waking up the dead and everything.

\- Hi. Chuck said as she sat down opposite from you. You raised your gaze and closed the book that you had been trying to read for the past 15 minutes. Concentrating however was very challenging and you had kept reading one line over and over again at least 25 times.  
\- How are you? she asked and slid a lunch box of pie to you across the table.  
\- Never better... you answered and cursed that your eyes were still red from crying and staying awake the entire night.  
\- Listen, Ned really likes you. Chuck began to which you reacted by shaking your head and then shifting your gaze elsewhere. There was no way that Ned liked you, you had been seeing him for many weeks and he had never made a move on you and whenever you had tried to make a move on him, he had rejected him. Besides the guy was crazy!  
\- He does! Chuck exclaimed and the lady who was working at the library gestured her to be silent. Chuck rolled her eyes in return and continued with a voice that was barely audible  
\- I spent the night with him last night because he is torn apart. He talked about you and ate a huge bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce. Can you imagine the moral hangover he is having today? Not to mention the crash from the sugar-rush. I saw Ned this morning and he looked… awful.  
You listened to Chuck talking but did not comment. You kept thinking whether Ned felt always so deeply for his friends because that was what you were for him, a friend, although he had sounded very jealous the other day when you had been arguing about your Tinder-rejoining. Was it possible that the entire thing had been just a big misunderstanding? Was it possible that you had somehow heard only a part of a story yesterday and then taken it out of context and therefore it had sounded so… insane?

\- Please... give him a chance to explain... It will all make sense after that. she said and after a moment of silence added  
\- And I don't mean to be rude, but you look like shit as well... so I guess you do like him also.  
\- Thanks. you commented. It annoyed you greatly that a person whom you did not know even that much told you that, although you knew it well enough yourself that she was just stating the obvious.  
\- But you do! Chuck exclaimed and the librarian made a loud “shush” sound as she glared Chuck angrily.  
\- I know... I did not sleep. you commented and sighed. You checked out the time from your phone and dropped your head as you realized that the exam was going to begin in 15 minutes.  
\- And neither did he... hooray! Now can you please go to the Pie Hole after studies? He is there and really wants to talk with you. Chuck said and looked at you with a small yet hopeful smile on her face.  
\- Fine. But if I'll end up being killed by close proximity, whatever that means... I will come back as a ghost and haunt your sorry ass of the rest of your life. you said and opened the lunch box that Chuck had brought to you. The smell of fresh apple pie filled the air and made you miss Ned.  
\- Deal! Ok, I need to go... I still have plenty to do... bye! Chuck said and left as suddenly as she had appeared.  
\- Bye... you said and sighed. You ate the pie very quickly and then rushed to take the exam.

Chuck got back to the Pie Hole where Ned was stress baking furiously like he had been the entire morning. He had not slept at all and baking was the only thing he was able to do without totally freaking out but the flipside was that now the kitchen was filling with pies and there was not going to be enough customers to eat them all. It was very unfortunate because Ned was a very skilled in what he did. His pies were the best and it would be a shame to throw them away. The thought however did not stop him from baking.  
\- Ok Ned, you have one chance. Chuck announced and walked to the sales counter. Ned put the bag of flours away and walked to the counter to lean to it with his elbows.  
\- She'll come? Ned asked. Chuck smiled a little and hoped that she could have given her dear friend a tight hug, that however would have been a lethal move. She sighed and answered  
\- Yes... And she looked like she had cried her eyes out half of the night... so-  
\- Oh? Ned interrupted her with a deep sorrowful sigh and looked absolutely worried.  
\- It is a good thing, Ned! It means that she cares! Chuck exclaimed.  
\- Does it? Ned asked with a confused tone.  
\- Yes! Duh'? Chuck commented and chuckled a little. Ned was especially adorable when he was confused and during moments like that she was slightly more sad than usual that the thing between her and him was not going to work, not now and not ever. It was only better if Ned moved on, fewer temptations.

\- Ok, Ned, you need to tell me what are you going to say to her? Chuck said.  
\- I'm Ned, I live a simple life… I wake the pies and make the dead... Ned said and groaned.  
\- That was creepy... he added.  
\- Again... Chuck said.  
\- Hi, I'm Ned, I live a simple life… I make the pies and wake the dead. he said and then continued  
\- I like you a lot and I am sorry that you had to hear like this... about my… secret.  
\- I am not a killer, or a bad person... I don't know why I have this thing, gift or curse... but I do... and I hope you could still like me. he added and smiled widely in a very Ned-like way, almost as he had been asking “pretty please” with his face. Chuck stayed silent until it got apparent that Ned was not going to continue.  
\- That's... good... Ok... well... I would give you a hug if I could. Or tap you on the back. she said and tapped the wooden surface of the sales counter instead.  
\- You think it was good? Ned asked. He sounded hopeful and also insecure.  
\- Yeah, sure. You'll alright. Chuck answered and flashed a friendly smile before returning to her chores. Ned returned to his pies and called a shelter for homeless people if they wanted to get a pie-donation. After that he packed them and cleaned the kitchen. He kept going through what he was going to say to you later because he had a feeling that he would have only one shot in this; making things better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter dedicated to chanmycherry as a thank-you for the comment!
> 
> I hope you liked this :)
> 
> \- Venla :D


	7. Exams, mental issues and the truth behind it all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has been a while :D
> 
> So... you agreed to meet Ned after your exams.
> 
> (You had previously found out about his secret and stormed out without letting Ned to explain. Basically you now assume that Ned has some serious mental issues.)

You kept staring at the exam paper with a blank look on your face. The minutes turned into an hour and after scribbling your name to the A4 paper you stood up, took your bag and returned the paper, that had the questions neatly written in alphabetical order, to your teacher as well as the sheet of paper that was supposed to host your answers but was currently entirely empty, excluding your name, to the teacher who glanced at you and rolled his eyes as he shook his head with a sigh.

\- I’ll be seeing you in the retake exam next month, (Your surname). the teacher said but you did not even bother to answer. You raised your hand as a goodbye and slammed the door shut behind you as you exited the auditorium. The truth was that you had other things in your mind and even if there had been some bits and pieces of information somewhere hidden in your memory, you were completely unable to connect yourself with the necessary knowledge such as statistics, details and numbers.

After this exam you had another one waiting for you and therefore you stayed sitting in the corridor. It took nearly thirty minutes for the first student to leave the auditorium after you and it made you certain that you would be retaking the exam after a month all by yourself. After waiting for yet another 45 minutes you and some other fellow students were invited to the auditorium that was now completely empty. You did not really know why the hell you had even stayed waiting for the second exam to begin because you were entirely sure that it was not going to be any more successful that the previous one… and you were right. You stared at the questions and dropped your head in despair. This Ned-business had really screwed you up big time and this was the payback time. Maybe it would be better if you just skipped the meeting.

But you had made a promise to the friend of Ned’s that you would show up after your exams. Ned was waiting for you and if you now ditched him and ignored his wish to explain everything, you would surely get to kiss your friendship with him goodbye. Was that a bad thing? “Maybe not” you thought silently with a deep, sorrowful sigh, and added “but then again”. Yes, you liked Ned, you liked him very much and only few short weeks ago you had liked him in a deeper way and hope that he had liked you in the deeper way as well.

Then however you had been brutally disappointed because nothing had happened. You had been seeing him in the date-sense-of-seeing but he had never even kissed you and every time you had tried to kiss him, he had rejected you which had hurt you at the time until you had stopped trying and accepted the fact, or which you had assumed to be the fact, that he just wasn’t interested in you in the romantic way. You had reinstalled Tinder which had then apparently offended Ned… although he had no right to save the cake… or the pie, which felt more suiting as a reference, for himself and then watch it turning moldy because he was not going to eat it himself… but he didn’t want anyone else to have the pie either.

Then suddenly you remembered the secret. Yes, you had gotten a feeling earlier that Ned had a secret. He had then gotten somewhat angry at you for pointing that out but luckily you had managed to sort it out almost immediately. Now it kind of made sense to you; if Ned in fact was mentally unstable, that would indeed be a huge secret and you were able to see the situation from his point of view; it was no surprise that Ned had not told you about his mental illness because you would have done the same if the tables were turned. But then again, it was unfair that he had kept it from you. It was unfair and cruel even because there had been a time when you had been dreaming about having a future with him.

Maybe Ned had decided not to bother with the medication at some point and that was the reason why he was saying such insane things now. Maybe you had caused him to quit the meds somehow. “Don’t go there!” you snapped at yourself silently. You were not the one to blame. If Ned had been honest with you right from the beginning, the things could be different… they surely would be different. Now however the situation was completely messed up and unless Ned had an explanation that actually made perfect sense and actually explained everything… you would disappear from his life for good. It was a cold and somewhat cruel decision but you did not want to get dragged into the hallucinations as well, even though most likely this was the time when Ned needed a friend more than ever.

\- Time is up! the teacher said suddenly. It woke you up from your thoughts and once again you had to return an empty sheet of paper which was ironic because you were the last one to leave the auditorium.  
\- (Your surname), I hope that this is not a sign for things to come, a start for a downward spiral. the teacher stated when he glanced your empty exam paper through. You felt embarrassed and kept avoiding to meet the gaze of the teacher while you mumbled  
\- Yeah well-  
\- Listen, it is normal to have rough time occasionally or lose motivation every once in a while when your social life might interest you more than studying and you might neglect… the teacher said and paused because you were not even looking at him. You shifted your eyes to him as a reaction and he continued  
\- …some things, like reading to the exams, but you have a bright future ahead of you and a smart head on your shoulders. It would be a great shame to see it go wasted. the teacher spoke.

\- I know, I just… There is something going on and it affected my concentration. It will not happen again, Sir. you answered and walked away when the teacher nodded and wished you great weekend as well as suggested that you should try to get some sleep. Apparently even the teacher thought that you looked pretty awful. It was no surprise that he had noticed your red eyes and dark circles under them but still it annoyed you greatly when he had pointed it out. It made you feel like a child and it didn’t exactly help that the teacher was just a few years older than you, fresh from school and quite good looking. But what really made the hair back of your head to rise was the way he sometimes talked you and your classmates, as if he had gained some kind of great wisdom about life when actually there were a few students in your class who were older than him. In those situations you and your friends had started to call him “Sir” which then made him feel very old… and that annoyed him.

The cold wind greeted you as soon as you left the school. The day had been relatively warm, or the sunshine had made it feel warm, but now that the clouds had filled the sky, the weather felt rather chilly and it looked like it was going to get stormy. You decided to take a shortcut through a park, mostly because you just wanted to find a quiet place to sit for a moment and sort out your thoughts. You were going to face Ned very soon and to be honest you did not know how you would react to what he was going to say. Ned was a great guy, sure, but did it matter if he was insane, delusional even? No, being a nice guy did not really mean anything if the guy killed people. Surely Ned had not killed-killed anyone, not on purpose anyway but killing someone was not something that one would do by an accident and say “oops, sorry”.

After an hour you finally continued journey to the Pie Hole. The weather was getting worse all the time and the cold wind was working its way under your jacket. The first thing you noticed when you stepped out from the park was that Ned’s bakery was dark. You decided to walk there anyway but you were greeted with a sign that said “sorry, we’re closed” when you got to the front door. You tried to open the door but it indeed was locked so you sighed and turned away. Just as you had managed to take a few steps, you heard the door opening behind you and Ned saying  
\- Stop! Please, don't go.

You stopped immediately and took a deep breath before turning around. When you finally did turn around, you noticed that the man at the door, Ned the Pie-Maker, looked sad and happy at the same time. He was the only person whom you had met who was able to look sad, adorable, confused and happy all mixed together which formed the person of… Ned, sort of Ned-ness. You sighed silently and shifted your gaze elsewhere as you emptied your lungs. It was too late to back out now so you nodded and returned to look into the eyes of the tall man.

\- Come inside. Ned said and held the door open for you. He was holding his breath while waited for you to make up your mind; were you going to trust him enough to follow him into the empty, dark bakery. Ned realized that the setting was indeed quite shady, so he immediately reached out to turn on some lights to give you some peace of mind.

You walked in and then stopped to wait for Ned who was locking up the door again. He didn’t want to get any customers to interrupt one of the most important conversations of his life, or that was how he felt. Ned walked past you and you followed him further in until you reached the sales counter. You leaned to it with your elbows and waited for Ned to join you. He had walked into the kitchen and soon returned with a pie. This time it was a salty one and you hated to admit to yourself that it smelled very delicious which made your stomach make demanding noises. Yes, you were hungry but not quite sure if you were able to eat.

\- You closed early today? you asked casually to break the silence. Ned had set the table in advance and now he was just slicing the pie and lifting the slices on your plate as well as on his.  
\- Yes... I thought this was more important. Ned answered and smiled briefly. The smile left his face when he realized that he was being too hopeful and he didn’t exactly have any rights to assume anything. An awkward silence followed.  
\- You located the body? you asked suddenly. Ned swallowed once and answered hesitantly  
\- No, not yet. My friend is working on that as we speak.  
\- Uhuh. you mumbled and started to cut the slice of pie with your fork even though Ned had given you a knife as well. The pie crust was very flaky and the filling had been chopped into nice, small pieces so cutting it with a fork wasn’t exactly a challenge.

\- Look... I think I need to tell you everything from the beginning. Ned stated eventually after watching you murdering and butchering the pretty slice that he had given you. He found it slightly amusing and sad at the same time because it was obvious that you were kind of trying to escape the situation to physical actions, or at least you tried to keep yourself focused, maybe even keep yourself from falling apart or snapping at him. Ned was sad that you needed such distraction to be able to be in the same room with him.

Ned cleared his throat and started to tell you his story. He told you everything from the beginning, how his mother had died and died again, how he had accidentally killed the father of his friend, who had later become his girlfriend, yes Chuck. He told you about his relationship with Chuck, how it had not worked out and that they were still very close friends. Suddenly you remembered the time when Chuck had slipped out the truth about their relationship, or the reason why it had ended… but this only made you assume that Chuck was having some kind of mental issues as well.

You kept listening to Ned even though you were somewhat unable to believe what he was saying. It all just made you more convinced that he had battled with these hallucinations throughout his whole life and it made you sorry for him. You had always taken your mental health and the great state of it for granted and now you realized that you were extremely lucky in a way. Ned told you about the one-minute rule but suddenly he stopped talking.

\- I can prove this. he stated. He had noticed that even though you kept knocking every once in a while, your facial expression was turning serious… not in a good way. It was clear that you did not believe him. This however did not surprise Ned although it made him worried; maybe you thought that he was completely insane and maybe… maybe you were getting afraid for your own safety. That was the last thing that he wanted because more than anything Ned wanted to be the knight in the shining armor… to be your knight in the shining armor more specifically and what kind of knight would he be if you were in fact scared of him?

\- Sure. you commented silently when Ned basically ran into the kitchen and further into the storage room. He brought a few moldy fruits and strawberries on a tray. Before starting the demonstration he collected the plates away and poured you a little bit of hot berry tea into your cup. Ned breathed slowly in and out and then mumbled “alright” to himself. You tucked your hair behind your ears and waited patiently for him to gather his nerves as well as his courage. You were not exactly sure what would happen next and you were getting yourself mentally ready to witness Ned’s hallucinations first handed. Would it be better to pretend that you see the same thing that he does? Would the truth make him to flip out if nothing actually happened but he would see something happening in any case? Ned was a tall guy. He was not a bouncer-type but he had broad shoulders and it was obvious that he did some heavy lifting, maybe bags of flour, regularly.

\- Here I have a rotten strawberry... he said and presented the berries without touching them.  
\- It is quite nasty, is it not? he continued. You nodded without commenting any further. It was a good thing that Ned at least realized that the fruits were rotten. Otherwise he might have baked with them! Surely not, they were even smelling quite disgusting.  
\- And you obviously wouldn’t eat this, would you? he asked curiously. You shook your head and sighed “no” as a reply. Then happened something that you had not anticipated, like at all; Ned took a strawberry and suddenly it changed from blue and moldy into the most delicious and freshest –looking bright red strawberry. He gave the berry to you.  
\- I touch it and it becomes fresh again. Ned explained and touched another strawberry. He touched all the fruits on the tray until there were nothing rotten or moldy on the tray and the smell of late autumn was completely gone. You kept feeling the strawberry in your hand and your breathing become rather erratic as you went through the possibilities when you could have been poisoned or… given some drugs that made you see, smell and feel things.

\- You can taste it, if you like... Ned suggested and waited you to say or do anything. You had been staring at the fruits silently for many minutes now and hearing Ned speaking to you woke you up from your thoughts.  
\- It will never go bad unless... he said and took one kiwi that turned into moldy one as soon as he touched it and removed it from the fresh fruits. He let you smell it and then continued  
\- ... I touch it again.   
\- However... if I will not touch it again... It will stay alive forever but something else has to die. Ned stated and pointed at some flowers that had been alive just a moment ago and now they were dead. You had noticed the bouquet before, all beautiful and alive… very much opposite than now. Ned explained that he bought his fruits rotten to save in the expenses but it also meant that he was never going to be able to eat his own pies, unless he bought actual fresh fruits for it. You immediately remembered the second first-date when you had baked a pie together and you had been silently confused about the buying-fruits –thing after finding out that his bakery was pretty much filled with all kinds of fruit. You had not said anything and you had completely forgotten about even thinking about it but now you suddenly had a feeling that you had found it rather curious at the time.

\- So Chuck...? you asked. Saying the name now felt like it was making all the air being drained out from the room. You had no other choice but to believe Ned because you were still holding on to the strawberry which you had not dared to eat yet.  
\- What about her? Ned asked. He had not expected you to ask about… Chuck… Chuck of all people!  
\- She kind of slipped out that if you touched her she would go back being dead. you explained as you realized that the only reason why Ned was not with Chuck was the fact that it was physically impossible. The thought made your heart ache, not for your own situation only but for them too as well.  
\- Did she? Ned commented with a tone that was a mixture of disappointment, confusion and being surprised and shifted his gaze away.  
\- I didn't mean to pry, I was just wondering why you two broke up... you said and paused for a moment. Ned returned to look at you and this time his facial impression spoke to you more than his words would have ever been able to; it was a touchy subject which might mean that he was still having some feelings for her.

\- …and she said something about waking the dead... And now it makes sense... I mean... in the scale that news like that can make... sense. you mumbled with pauses. It was rather impossible to believe yourself that you were actually saying these things aloud; waking someone up from the dead and so on. Ned did not comment. He was mentally somewhere far away, maybe he was going through the relationship that he and Chuck had had and maybe he was still in love with her… although it didn’t really matter because Ned had not shown interest in you, not in the romantic sense anyway.  
\- So... it means that if you did not have these "touching limitations" you would still date her and not anyone else? you asked with a shaky tone.  
\- I don't know... why? Ned asked immediately. He was surprised to find a slight undertone of jealousness in your voice, which was something that he had not expected, considering the fact that you had reinstalled Tinder and possibly seeing other guys now.  
\- No reason. you answered and smiled briefly. It was a sad excuse for a smile and it didn’t really fool Ned.  
\- No, tell me. Ned demanded which was very uncharacteristic of him.

\- We’re just friends, right? And “friends” is all that we are, right? So it is none of my business. you exclaimed. For a moment your voice sounded hurt and even somewhat desperate but you managed to get rid of the unnecessary drama from your tone by the time you were finished with your sentence.  
\- I… like you. Very much. I don’t want to be your friend! Or I do, but not in the way that you think! Ned exclaimed. You put the strawberry on the counter and hopped off from the barstool. You were not quite sure if you wanted to have also this conversation now because the “I can bring back the dead” –talk had been quite enough by itself.  
\- But why you never made a move? Why you always rejected me when I tried to make a move? you asked and folded your arms involuntarily, almost as if it had been a defense shield protecting you.  
\- I couldn’t! Ned exclaimed and walked around the sales counter to the restaurant area where you were currently walking nervously a few steps here and there. “Why?” you exclaimed when he walked closer.  
\- Because I wanted to tell you about this… Ned said, walked to the sales counter, took the strawberry and showed you the berry that was now rotten again. “Hey, I was going to eat it!” you exclaimed as a reaction. Ned however continued immediately after filling his lungs with air  
\- … before… anything but it is a huge deal for me. I can’t just go and tell it to people that I do not know, can I? No, I cannot. It would freak them out, it freaked you out-

\- Hey! you exclaimed and glared at Ned because his tone was somewhat accusing.  
\- I do not blame you for it. There were so many times when I wanted to tell you but I thought that I would lose you and the longer I waited, the harder it got… the truth. Ned explained and put the strawberry in to the garbage bin.  
\- Fine, I do get it. you stated and chuckled bitterly when you realized that this now meant that the history between Chuck and Ned was actually your business after all.  
\- What is so funny? Ned asked. He sounded annoyed, a little at least, and the truth was that your bitter laughter offended him a little. His life was no joke and if you had just known how difficult it was sometimes to live such a gift-curse and to keep such a secret… you would not be laughing.

\- I just realized that if things were different you would be with Chuck. you spoke with tone that was very different than the tone you had had just a moment ago. Now you sounded like you had given up. Ned kept staring at you with a confused look on his face, not saying a word and waiting for you to continue because he did not have any idea what you were trying to say. You walked to your bag because it had started to feel that the most reasonable and the smartest thing to do was to leave. Ned walked to you and put his hand on your bag. He was not going to let you to pick it up from the chair and leave.  
\- What is it? he asked with a calm tone.

\- I'm sorry, but it kind of makes me feel like a cheap substitute. you answered. It was a cruel feeling to realize that the only reason why Ned was even talking with you was the fact that he was unable to be with Chuck. You had learned during the weeks that you had known Ned that she was Ned’s childhood sweetheart and his first kiss. Besides you had sometimes seen Chuck looking at Ned with a mixture of such deep affection and sadness but you had never realized what it had meant. Now you did; it meant that they had been happy together even when their relationship had been lethally dangerous for Chuck.

Would you ever be able to mean so much for Ned? Would he always miss Chuck and wonder what his life would be like if he weren’t the way he was? Was Ned really going to settle with you or would he get back with Chuck at some point? What if something changed and Ned lost his ability of bringing back the dead and killing the alive-again-persons by touching them? Surely the temptation to continue things with Chuck would be very high. Would Ned break your heart eventually and was he really, truly over Chuck?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to Natalie, I hope you liked this :) Thanks for the comment!


	8. What really matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned has many things to explain still... will you stay and listen to him?

\- No, please don't! Ned exclaimed and added “don’t go” which he said almost so softly that you had slight problems of hearing it. You turned to look Ned who looked again desperate but also hopeful, relieved even. That was exactly what Ned was; relieved. He felt like a terrible weight had been taken off from his shoulders because now he had told you his secret and… and on top of it all, as a cherry on the top, you had expressed, kind of, that you wanted to be more for him than just a friend. Sure you were about to leave and sure you now thought that he was still having feelings for Chuck but Ned didn’t care. It did not matter because it was irrelevant. What really meant something, or not just “something” but more like “everything”… what really meant everything was that you now knew that he wanted more from you than just friendship. Sure he wanted that as well but he wanted so much more. Ned wanted to be that one special person for you, that knight in the shining armor, the one that would always be there for you and the man who had the permission as well as the a great honor to call you his girlfriend.

You sighed as you removed your hand from your bag. You were not quite sure what was going to happen next but you had to stay to find out since there had been a sudden change in Ned. You noticed or sensed that he was feeling relieved, which of course was an excellent thing but it also made you intrigued; why it was so? What had suddenly changed the hopeless situation into a hopeful one? Why was Ned so excided and relieved all of a sudden? Ned flashed an adorable, shy smile and then continued  
\- You're not... cheap... or a substitute. he said and removed his hand from your bag as well. You rolled your eyes a little as an involuntary reaction. Ned noticed this and continued immediately  
\- I love Chuck... I will always love Chuck in some way, but I'm not in love with her anymore.

It was not exactly the thing that you had hoped to hear but somehow it was the thing that you had expected him to say. It had been quite clear and obvious that Chuck still meant a lot for Ned and she played a great role in his life, which was something that you had nothing against, but hearing that Ned still loved Chuck and he would always love her… “in some way” you thought and tried to figure out that that meant for real. You knew that there were many kinds of love and not all of them were romantic in nature but what this “in some way” was exactly, you did not know.

\- I don't know if it makes any difference for you, but there is a difference. Ned continued. His tone was shy and he sounded like he had been walking on a thin ice, taking one step at a time, trying to feel the ice carefully in case it was going to crack and give in under his feet. You hated the fact that you made him feel so insecure and even anxious but in this situation you had a right to feel the way you did and it was not your responsibility to worry about Ned’s mood. If he wanted to feel anxious or insecure, he had an equal right to feel those feelings.  
\- There is a huge difference, you must believe that. You do believe me, right? he asked and when you didn’t answer anything he continued taking very fast  
\- Just please tell me that you believe me and give me a chance to fix things. I need to fix everything because I really… really like you and if you think that I still love Chuck in the romantic way, you are mistaken. It is not so, what I feel for her now is very different from what I feel for you.

\- I know what you mean. you answered eventually. It was the truth after all; you knew that it was possible to love someone even deeply without being romantically in love with him or her. You didn’t want to deliberately question or doubt what Ned was saying but you were worried that maybe Ned didn’t know what he was really… truly deep down in his heart… feeling. Maybe he was now worried about losing you and telling you things that he knew you wanted to hear. Yes, it was quite obvious that you, or a part of you at least, was dying to hear him saying all the right things and maybe even embrace you without asking but then again, there was also the part in you who was kind of fighting against it all. That part of yourself was constantly whispering into your ear that it was just better and easier to walk away now when you still had your heart unharmed and undamaged, in one piece.

\- Please, just… Give me a chance. A small chance… that is all I am asking for. Ned pleaded and then flashed a shy, hopeful smile which made you smile against you will. You didn’t want to seem too enthusiastic because in your eyes the whole thing was still a mess and you had not decided whether you were able to trust Ned enough to let him close, not just physically but emotionally as well as mentally too. You understood Ned’s point of view; he had a big secret that made him different from everybody else, but then again you couldn’t help feeling a little bit betrayed, especially now that you had found out the way you had.

Ned noticed the small smile that had appeared on your face although it was apparent that you were trying to fight it. It made him secretly happy although he didn’t want to get his hopes too up high. He had sometimes a bad habit of getting carried away and maybe assuming more than he had reasons to. When he did that he then easily got confused which was almost like his natural state of mind; slight confusion where he didn’t want to go this time. No, this time he had to keep his nerves cool and see how the situation was going to develop. The last thing he wanted to do now was to screw it up. You were smiling a little after all and that was a good start.

\- I bought ice cream because I ate all last night… so I bought new one… because I like ice cream and you like ice cream… so I… bought it. Ned said and walked into the kitchen. This time you followed him and asked  
\- So… What is this “body” –thing then?  
\- Body… thing? Ned asked with a confused tone as he took a packet of ice cream out from the freezer.  
\- If there are limitations, uh-the one-minute-rule, then why would you touch a dead human being? I mean, if I were you, I would stay away from… corpses. This “something else must die instead” –rule sounds very… dangerous. you explained with many pauses.  
\- Yes, it is risky because sometimes the bodies start to… run. Ned replied and then regretted saying such thing.  
\- B-bo-bo-bodies? you stammered and watched Ned intensely as he sliced the ice cream with a large knife. Ned could feel that you were on alert again so he put the knife on the table and decided to tell you about his second job as a murder-investigator. He inhaled slowly and then began  
\- You see, the only reason why I am able to afford running the bakery is that I buy the fruit that no one else wants and-  
\- A-and? you asked nervously. In your opinion it was rather weird and spooky that someone spent their free time among dead people. Ned after all had said “bodies” in plural, which meant many, not just one accidental encounter with one dead body. It was an awesome thing that Ned was not delusional but you were not very enthusiastic about the “many dead bodies” –part either. It was creepy and if Ned did not have any reason that would make perfect sense for his morbid pastime activities you would not want to have anything to do with any of them, not even Ned. Period. Ned was trying to find his words so you asked instead with an impatient tone  
\- Are you volunteering at the morgue? 

\- What? No-no! Ned exclaimed immediately. Your facial expression did not change for better because your rational reason for him to hang out among the dead had just been shot down. “Morgue” had been your one and only explanation that you had been able to come up with… a suggestion or an idea that would have been somewhat… normal.  
\- I solve crimes that no one else gets solved. Ned continued. You shifted your gaze away from him for a moment and sighed “oh”. Then you shifted your eyes back to Ned and asked  
\- How?  
\- I touch the dead and ask who killed them. Quite simple actually, except when they take off and run. Ned explained. You mumbled “right” and took hesitantly the ice cream cup which Ned was handing over to you.  
\- And... How does that turn into a bakery? you asked and took two spoons from the drawer when Ned asked you to. You gave the second spoon to Ned and then leaned to the kitchen counter with a slightly confused, yet curious look on your face. Ned smiled briefly, put the remaining ice cream back into the freezer and took his ice cream cup as well. He leaned to a baking table with his elbows and started to mush the ice cream while you watched his actions very intensely.

\- I get a reward for catching the killer and that's how I can keep the Pie Hole open. he answered eventually.  
\- I see. you commented and cut a small piece from the ice cream that was almost too hard to slice into with a spoon. You put the cup on the kitchen counter and asked  
\- And you do this… alone?  
\- No. I have a friend who is a private investigator and then… Chuck helps occasionally. Ned replied and hoped that you were not going to get suspicious about employing Chuck and catching killers with her as well. It was plenty of Chuck for one lifetime alright and Ned was worried that it would look bad in your eyes… considering their history together and all.  
\- Chuck. you mumbled and fought the feeling of jealousy as well as you could. You didn’t want to be the bitchy woman who wanted to have the guy for herself only and you knew that Ned and Chuck had been friends as kids and they were friends even now, so therefore you pushed your jealousy away and tried to figure out something smart to say.  
\- Well, at least you’re not doing it alone. you commented and took the cup into your hands. The ice cream was now slightly melted so you were able to start eating it. Ned had managed to make his piece into soft-ice-mush and was now eating as well.

\- Does that mean that you… approve what I do? he asked casually while staring into the cup.  
\- Well, I think it is better that you aren’t alone with… that. It could be… depressing. I think. you mumbled and then smiled briefly. After this you both ate ice cream in silence. You had lots of things spinning around in your mind but you were not quite ready to talk about them, besides, what was there to talk about anyway? It was Ned’s life, his gift or curse… his way to keep the bakery open and as far as you knew the dead deserved justice as well so it was a good thing that Ned was using his ability to do good… even if it was for the reward. It was a win-win –situation but still, you thought it was risky.

You were quite certain that Ned was careful and very rarely made any mistakes but when he did, it was a matter of life and death. If he brought something back to life for over a minute, something else had to die and even though this time the person who had died instead had in fact been the killer, it still left the door open for the possibility that maybe Ned wasn’t going to be as lucky next time. What if he someday made a mistake and someone innocent died? What if… you died because of him?

No, you didn’t want to go there. There were countless of ways to die in the world. Maybe you got ran over by a bus when you left home tonight or maybe you would get a cancer in forty years or maybe you will live a good, long life without any complications in sight. But despite of reasoning all the ways that you could get killed versus the tiny possibility of getting killed because of Ned’s mistake, you couldn’t help feeling a little puzzled about it all.

\- Do you hate me? Ned asked suddenly. You shifted your gaze to the handsome man who was now looking at you quite intensely, but still possessing such a soft and apologetic look on his face. You tried to form your thoughts into words and then the words into sentences in your head before actually saying anything aloud. You did not want to say anything stupid which then caused you to say nothing at all.  
\- Yes, no? Maybe, a little? Ned asked with a hesitant tone but after finishing he immediately flashed a tiny, hopeful smile which made him look adorable and the truth was that it was impossible for you to hate him.  
\- No. you sighed and then added “I don’t… hate you” with a soft, yet slightly sad tone. Ned did not know what to think about such answer. Sure he was happy that you had said “no” but then again the look on your face was making him sad and it was impossible for him to be overjoyed about anything. You took your phone from your pocket and checked the time. It was almost midnight and it had been a long day.

\- Wow... What a day... I think I should start getting home. you said and read a Whatsapp message that your friend had sent to you an hour ago. It said “sorry (Y/N), must cancel tomorrow, I am going on a date with that dude who I’ve been drooling over for many weeks now”. The message made you chuckle bitterly as you put your phone back into your pocket, placed the ice cream cup into the kitchen sink and filled it with water. You could feel Ned walking behind you as he too was going to do the same with his cup.  
\- Or you could stay. he suggested softly. His words haunted you as they ghosted on the skin of your neck. He did not touch you and he was not even that-that close but still, you could feel him standing behind you, most likely wishing that he would be able to put his hand on your shoulder and turn you around to face him. Your head started to spin and you had to seek support from the kitchen counter. You imagined how it would feel if Ned now traced your neck with his lips so very softly, wrapped his arms around you and pulled you tightly against him… but it was all in your mind.

\- Uhm, it’s the best if I’ll go. you stated after clearing your throat. Ned had been thinking about the exact same thing and now that the moment had passed, he stepped immediately backwards and swallowed his disappointment bravely. He had not hoped to take you into his bed or anything… or actually he had but just to sleep or talk until the sunrise.  
\- Last night was a very shitty night and the day at school was even shittier. I’m exhausted. you spoke but your words faded away almost completely by the time you had reached the end which made the word “exhausted” sound like a desperate gasp. Ned understood from your body language, which was now basically pushing him away, that it would be too bold of him to suggest that you would spend the night at his place, even if Ned would offer to sleep on the sofa himself and therefore he only nodded. You walked to your back and put on your jacket. Ned followed you but kept his distance because you seemed extremely tired; exhausted, just like you had said yourself.

\- What are you doing tomorrow? Ned asked suddenly.  
\- I was supposed to meet a friend and watch a movie with her but she cancelled. you answered.  
\- Oh. Ned sighed. He was able to hear disappointment in your voice but he was unable to feel too bad about your friend cancelling because it opened your schedule for him. This was something that he had somewhat conflicted feelings about; he didn’t want you to be sad or disappointed and the last thing he wanted to do was to be happy for your disappointments… but he couldn’t help it this time. Late cancellation of your plans meant that you were free to meet him, which in his opinion was wonderful.  
\- I could watch a movie with you. Ned suggested. You were focusing your attention on searching your card for public transportation and ignored the fact that Ned’s statement had been actually a question.  
\- … or not. Ned added immediately. He did not want to push it, or to push you to cross some limits and boundaries that you were not ready to cross yet. You stopped for a moment and replied with a small smile on your face  
\- Yeah… yeah, sounds good.

After this you continued searching your ticket. Ned watched you silently and wondered if there was something that he could do to make you feel better or help you somehow but he did not dare to ask because you were getting increasingly irritated for the sudden misplacement of the monthly travel card. Ned felt that he had to say something, anything. He had a feeling that perhaps you needed a hug, just a friendly reminder that despite of everything, he was still the same Ned the piemaker from the neighborhood who despite some particularities was actually pretty decent and trustworthy guy.

\- May I… hug you? Ned asked just as you found your monthly ticket. You raised your head and shifted your eyes from your bag to Ned who looked irresistibly huggable. He was smiling shyly and tilting his head slightly which made him look even more shy and adorable. You thought about your options for a moment; if you refused him, would you offend him and hurt his feelings? But then again, were you ready to hug him yet?  
\- Not today. you answered finally. Ned nodded with a smile on his face but you couldn’t deny the fact that he looked sorrowful. Ned however understood entirely that you were not there yet but yes, he was sad about it. He was not the person who had liked to hug or be close to other people but now he had needed a hug. The thing that you had not been really considering was that it was Ned who had to live with the consequences of his absurd and very strange ability. Sure it was completely normal that you focused on your point of view and you had every right to do so, but… however… Ned was the one who had to live with himself, in good as well as in bad. Now you realized this, it really hit you like a hammer.

\- Tomorrow. you stated and then continued by joking a little  
\- I really need to sleep on this.  
\- Yeah… sure. I’m not pushing it. Ned stated. He was happy with hugging you tomorrow if that was what you were willing to do. It was a nice compromise after all; you had a little time to think things through and he got a confirmation that you in fact did not hate him… or more importantly, were not scared of him and being close to him.  
You took followed Ned out from the bakery and watched him turning off the lights and locking the door. Ned walked you to the bus stop, keeping a safe distance at all times, even when you were both waiting for the bus to arrive and Ned didn’t have his coat with him. It was snowing again although it was spring already. You had met Ned in the late autumn and now it was early spring again. You looked at the sky high above and let the snowflakes land on your weary face softly. Then you shifted your eyes to Ned who was smiling, although he didn’t look so sure if he should be smiling or not, but there he was, catching snowflakes with his long, dark eyelashes… smiling. 

The bus turned around the corner and drove closer. You did not sign it to stop so it just drove away. Ned looked confused for this because he had no understanding of what was going on. You had deliberately missed the bus and now you even started laughing. It was very strange indeed and Ned was lacking any reasonable explanations for this odd stunt of yours. You felt light as you laughed, like a huge weight had been lifted off your shoulders.  
\- You know… I had this crazy idea… you said after calming down.  
\- Uhuh? Ned asked and put his hands into his pockets as he tried to keep himself a bit warm… or warmer.  
\- How about that movie tonight already? you suggested and smiled at Ned in a very shy manner.  
\- Are you sure? he asked with a deeply concerned tone.  
\- Yeah… you sighed. It all made sense now; you did not care if Ned was able to wake the dead. No, deep down you couldn’t care less!  
\- You know what… You’re the nicest and the cutest guy I’ve ever met. So you can wake the dead. So what, right? you stated and felt that this was one of those “now or never” –moments. You didn’t want to waste more time because you had a feeling that you knew Ned, his character by heart even though, you didn’t really know-know him. It was a strong feeling, almost like an intuition which you wanted to trust… you knew that he was good and kind, caring and considerate. Nothing else really mattered. You took a deep breath and began  
\- There will be another bus in twenty minutes. In case you want… you could go and get what you need… pajama… toothbrush-

\- Are you sure? Ned asked. He didn’t want to sound too enthusiastic although this was exactly what he had hoped you to say. He just wanted to act cool and not too pushy, just in case that you were having a momentary lack of being able to think clearly. He wanted to be sure that you truly wanted him to come with you. You took this insecurity as a sign of hesitation and rejection and replied  
\- Yeah, but it sounds like you are not-  
\- I am! Ned exclaimed with a surprised yet wide smile on his face.  
\- Wait here… I’ll be back very soon. he continued and ran into the building that he was living, right above his bakery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to RacoonishHunter as a thank-you for your comment.
> 
> Now there will be a break for this story because I must try to write some other things that I have promised. I will continue this as soon as possible.
> 
> Thank you for understanding!
> 
> \- Venla :)


End file.
